What could best capture the source of life in the world? Nature may be the first association, yet humanity is inseparable from it. Thus, we need a metaphor for the interaction between humans and nature, and this metaphor is the garden: nature shaped by human hands. In our exhibition, ‘Garden. The Possibility of Life’, we explore where and how life emerges in the interplay of nature and humanity, as expressed by contemporary artists.
Much of this ultra-contemporary display was created specifically for this exhibition. Young Hungarian contemporary artists engage in a fascinating dialogue with works by international star artists. Belgian artist David Claerbout’s video, ‘Birdcage’ (2023), which explores questions of birth and death, is featured in the Light Space. This piece was the highlight of Art Basel Unlimited 2024 and is now showcased in Budapest for the first time. The various aspects of how garden is interpreted by artists appears through sections such as ‘Garden as Site of Struggle’ in the Cloud Space, engaging with the ‘Sacred Feminine’ section, dominated by works from female artists. A video work by Hungarian Attila Kondor exploring the theme of Sacrality interacts with paintings by American John McAllister, while the ‘When Nature Meets Technology’ part by Russian artists Crocodile Power for instance, unfolds a complex dystopia.
The artworks in this exhibition view the garden as a space that exists beyond rational knowledge. It is bodily, unconscious, and constantly alive and changing. The garden acts as an agent, impacting us, reshaping our thoughts and emotions as we spend time within it – just as, we hope, this exhibition will invite the audience into a dialogue about questions concerning the present and future of life.
