Barbara Nagy – Concealing Melancholy

Barbara Nagy, a Hungarian visual artist awarded the Munkácsy Prize and holder of the DLA title, member of the Szentendre Old Art Colony, creates engraved black wooden panels exploring light – both in its philosophical and physical sense. The depth and direction of the engraving, combined with the monochromatic surface, allow one to trace the "journey" of light: black colour, which absorbs light, is through the structure of the engraving simultaneously capable of making it visible. The installation Concealing Melancholy references a distinctive geometric polyhedron from Dürer's engraving Melancholia I from 1514 – a shape hidden among stones, yet visible. This "melancholic stone" escapes hermeneutic and iconological contexts; Saturn is the planet of melancholy and the sound of Saturn can be heard beneath the installation video. The work depicts the shadows of melancholy, its elusive traces engraved into wood. The exhibition is free to enter and runs until 15 May 2026 at the Liszt Institute – Hungarian Cultural Centre Prague, Rytířská 27, Prague.