Csontó, Lajos
Born in Budapest in 1964
"Although Lajos Csontó is today's artist, yet, in his works he is regularly concerned about the question of the power of the picture, its mysterious force. In addition to that, the connection to the tradition, the conventional representation and the separation from this, the innovation all appear in his works at the same time. Thus, his works are characterized by the permanent haunting of cultural quotation marks, saturated with metaphoric content. As a result of this, from the aspect of modern art, Csontó's works can also be accused of image-destruction, as the most significant features of the image-destruction of modern art - although several parts of it has already been found earlier, still it became dominant in the present -: the connection of images with other images, their repetition, remix, reproduction, invocation, parody, allusion, misappropriation and the use of hypertexts."
An extract of the work 'The consistency of change'
(Andrea Bordács art historian)
 Family I-VI., 2003 |  Illusion, 2001, 125x1400 cm, c-print |  Untitled, 1999, 98x98 cm |
 Untitled, 1999, 98x98 cm |  Don\'t fear!, 2008, video, loop, 9\'6\" |  Yes Daddy, No Mummy, 2006 |
 Not enough yet, 2005, video installation |  Not enough yet..., 2005, video installation |  Portrait, 2008,ecosolvent print, canvas; 80x80 cm |
 The music is beautiful, video |
Biography
| 2007 | Munkácsy-award |
| 2006 | Scholarship of the Municipal Art Board, Cite Internationale Des Arts, Paris Scholarship of the Hungarian Academy Rome |
| 2000 | Hincz Gyula-award |
| 1994 | The prize of the Magyar Grafikáért Foundation |
| 1993 | The prize of the Fiatal Képzőművészek Stúdiója |
| 1992-1995 | Derkovits-scholarship |
| 1992 | The prize of the Művelődési Minisztérium, VIII. Esztergom Photo Biennal |
| 1991 | The prize of the Művészeti Alap, XVI. National Graphic Biennal, the prize of the Miskolc Fotóművészek Szövetsége, National Photo Biennal |
| 1986-1992 | Hungarian College of Fine Arts, duplicating graphics major |
Single exhibitions
| 2009 | Selected, Raiffeisen Gallery, Budapest Lajos Csontó's exhibition, Líceum Gallery, Eger Viennafair, Inda Gallery, Vienna Janco Dada Museum, Ein Hod, Israel |
| 2008 | Treaspassing (with Csurka Eszter and Kamen Stoyanov), Inda Gallery, Budapest Common Denominator, Kunsthalle - Dorottya Gallery, Budapest |
| 2007 | Literature, Budapest Gallery, Lajos Street Exhibition House, Budapest Bud, (with Imre Bukta) Synagoge, Eger |
| 2006 | Knit one, knit purl, Cellar Gallery of Vajda Lajos Studio, Szentendre One Shape is like the Other, Danube Museum, Europe Central Gallery, Esztergom Human-smithing, MG Gallery, Budapest |
| 2005 | Anti-matter, Picture Gallery of Szentendre, Szentendre Not enough yet, Kunsthalle, Budapest |
| 2004 | The music is beautiful, Centre of Arts, Pécs One-two, Vintage Gallery, Budapest Bath-projekt, Sofia Public Mineral Baths, Sofia |
| 2003 | Reflexinger, Kunsthalle, Budapest Kortárs Fotó, Pécsi Gallery, Pécs |
| 2002 | Restart, Vintage Gallery, Budapest |
| 2000 | You Misunderstood Me, But That's Your Job, French Institute, Budapest Display, Vintage Gallery, Budapest |
| 1999 | Mindent értek apa, Vintage Gallery, Budapest |
| 1998 | My God' V.M.K. Photo Gallery, Nyíregyháza |
| 1997 | Photographies, Miskolc Photo Gallery, Miskolc |
| 1996 | Euphoria, Winter Gallery, Szentendre |
| 1994 | Gallery by Night, (with Imre Gábor) Studio Gallery, Budapest Galerie mladych U Recickych, Prague (with Endre Koronczi, Dvoøák Roman) |
Group exhibitions
| 2010 | Best Before End, Inda Gallery, Budapest |
| 2009 | A Little Hungarian Pornography, MODEM, Debrecen Another Time – Another Place, American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center, Washington New Acquisitions, Rarely Seen Works, Ludwig Museum, Budapest |
| 2008 | Our Ways, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Dunaújváros Nuit de l’Europe, Identities photographiques européennes, Gare de Lyon – Gare de Bercy Exhibition of Vajda Lajos Studio, Gallery, Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania Open Space, Colony of Artists in Mezőszemere, Municipal Gallery – Deák Collection, Székesfehérvár Optional Essence – Landscape after 2000, Gallery of Szombathely, Szombathely Segment, Cultural and Art Centre, Gyergyószárhegy, Romania Alteration, VAM Design Center, Budapest |
| 2007 | The Pathfinder, Pintér Sonja Gallery, Budapest Curators – Artists, Exhibition House of Budapest Gallery, Budapest The Light, Volksbank Gallery, Budapest 2007. évi Állami Díjazottak kiállítása, Olof Palme House, Budapest Group exhibition of the Vajda Lajos Studio, Contemporary Hungarian Gallery, Dunaszerdahely Segment IV, contemporary Hungarian exhibition, Igong Gallery, Daejeon, Korea Seoul Internationa Print, Photo & Edition Works Art Fair, Korea Body Language, Modem, Debrecen |
| 2006 | Roma in Miniatura, Hungarian Academy, Rome Narrative, Szent István Király Museum, Székesfehérvár MovieArt, Inda Gallery, Budapest Landscape with Double Sign, Kunsthalle – Dorottya Gallery, Budapest Hungarian Contemporary Art, National Taiwan University of the Arts, Taipei Sculptors, 2B Gallery, Budapest Europe-Frieze, Hungarian Academy of Moscow, Moscow Narrative, King Stephen Museum, Székesfehérvár Europe-Frieze, Hungarian Academy of Rome, Rome |
| 2005 | Plug, Műcsarnok, Budapest For a word, MissionArt Gallery, Miskolc Neofoton, MűvészetMalom, Szentendre |
| 2004 | Kogart-salon, Kogart-House, Budapest XXII. National Graphic Biennal, Gallery of Miskolc, Miskolc Symbiosis II., Mai Manó House, Budapest |
| 2003 | Rouge, Picture Gallery of Szombathely, Szombathely Real Image, Exhibition of Colony of Artists in Mezőszemere, Hatvan Museum, Hatvan |
| 2002 | A Little Luxury, Exhibition of the Colony of Graphic Artists in Makó, Gallery IX, Budapest Vajda Lajos Jubilee Exhibition, Kunsthalle, Budapest |
| 2001 | Self-Mythology in Drawing, Cellar Gallery of Vajda Lajos Studio, Szentendre Three Islands, Rákóczi Museum, Sárospatak Climate, Kunsthalle, Budapest |
| 2000 | National Graphics Biennial XX, Miskolc Budapest Gallery, Lajos Street Exhibition House, Budapest Document 5, Veszprém, Csikász Gallery Document 5, Budapest, Mai Manó House |
| 1999 | No Camera, Vintage Gallery, Budapest |
| 1998 | National Graphics Biennial XIX, Miskolc Ornamentation, Gallery of Szombathely |
| 1997 | Exhibition of the Colony of Artists in Szeged, Bartók Gallery, Szeged Idyll, Hetvennyolcas Gallery, Sopron Ljubljana Graphics Biennial |
| 1996 | FFS group exhibition, Győr, Mediawave FFS group exhibition, Esztergom Photo Biennial X, Esztergom Self-Portrait, Gromek Photo Gallery, Budapest Bratislava Month of Photography, Gromek Photo Gallery |
| 1995 | Annual exhibition of the Studio of Young Artists Association, Ernst Museum, Budapest Exhibition of the holders of Derkovits Scholarship, Prague Hungarian Institute, Prague Circle, Fire, Place ‘95, Csontváry Room, Budapest |
| 1994 | Exhibition of the Studio of Young Photographers, House of Arts, Pécs Collection ‘94, Uitz Room, Dunaújváros |
| 1993 | March Youths (with Imre Gábor, László Lugosy, Sándor Rácmolnár, András Wahorn, István ef Zámbó), House of Hungarian Culture, Prague Exhibition of the holders of Derkovits Scholarship, Palme House, Budapest International Graphics Biennial I, Maastricht |