BIO & STATEMENT
Photo credit: Peter Virth Statement
My paintings begin with the act of painting rather than with perception. Observed reality functions as a point of contact—with the world and with the viewer—but it is dismantled through painterly operations. Edges, tonal relationships, and structural contrasts form the underlying system of each work, without a predetermined direction or hierarchy.
I work primarily with oil, extended through resin, charcoal, bone ash, marble dust, cellulose, and aluminum-derived materials such as alum. These materials are chosen for their physical behavior: how they absorb, resist, compress, crack, respond to gravity, and settle. No single element governs the process; image, material, and action remain interdependent. Their interaction generates the work as much as any deliberate decision.
The process moves between control and contingency. Tonal rhythm, geometry, and light structure the composition, while material reactions introduce unpredictability. Painting unfolds as a sequence of actions and responses, not as progression toward a goal, where the surface records both intention and resistance.
Perception shifts continuously, operating from a moving, satellite-like point of view rather than a fixed position. Scale, contrast, and attention alter the work, shaping perception through tension and emphasis.
Rather than prescribing interpretation, the painting sets a perceptual field. Presence is not stated or illustrated, but formed through accumulation, reduction, and layered emphasis shaped by material and time.
Bio
Tibor Simon-Mazula is a painter based in Budapest. He works primarily with oil and extended painting processes that emphasize material behavior, structure, and duration. His work has been exhibited internationally, particularly in the United States and Asia. He continues to develop his practice through sustained studio work.