Bela Bacsi Featured in Sculpture Review Magazine Fall 2011 Issue
Béla Bácsi: Contemporary Realism with a Wink and a Smile
Béla Bácsi uses humor as an invitation to engage his sculptures. While some contemporary art can seem intimidating or esoteric to the viewer, Bácsi’s humor often suggests a kind of intimacy between himself and the viewer, like a private joke shared between friends, because he executes his work with a gentle hand and a wink and a smile that helps the viewer make a real personal connection to his sculpture.
Bácsi is known for his sculptures of voluptuous, zaftig women in exuberant and luxuriating poses and caricature-like portraits, which reveal the foibles of both self-important people and the common man. While others might see them as a platform for social commentary, Bácsi says, with these works, he has just one intention—to make people smile. However defined, Bácsi thinks humor is an essential element in the social fabric that serves to counterbalance hardships and angst.
