Thomas Erben is thrilled to present the first US solo show of Andrea Éva Györi (1985, Budapest – 2022, Rotterdam). On view are a selection of works on paper dating from 2014 to 2022, as well as Talking to Breasts, a video filmed by the artist following her diagnosis with breast cancer in 2017. Delving — with astounding frankness — into the relationship between body, sexuality and psyche, Györi’s practice aims to create a space of trust for women to explore their sexuality, overcome trauma, and experience pleasure as well as sensuality, all the while creating the potential for community and healing. Her work has been showcased in major institutions, including a breakthrough participation at Manifesta 11 (Zürich, 2016) and the 2019 Esterházy Art Award, the most prestigious award for emerging artists in Hungary.

At Manifesta, Györi presented Vibration Highway, an impressive group of “Masturbation Portraits”: large scale works on paper drawn in private sessions with women, who — in “an act of playing together” (Györi) — were invited to pleasure themselves. Corresponding fantasies are documented in equally sized Phantasy Analysis, with both drawings displayed together, as is the case with Woman 4 (included in the exhibition). Additional drawings are grouped under such titles as Exercises and Movements, Experiences from Childhood, and Expedition: Get to Know Your Genitals (on view) to complete the cycle, resulting in an analysis of – and guidebook to – female self-pleasure.

Györi’s drawings are characterized by the rapid, yet confident fluidity of her graphite lines and her coded use of red, blue and yellow watercolor. Throughout her oeuvre, her works speak with an emotional immediacy and irrepressible vitality, even more so in the years following her diagnosis, seen in such series as Deep Jaw Relaxation, Deep Muscle Relaxation and Traumatizing a Lemon (all on view). In these, Györi instrumentalizes mind-body techniques to investigate the interconnection between her body, her sexuality, her symptoms and traumas in an attempt to heal herself. This holistic approach was often shared via performances and artist-led community events.

Andrea Éva Györi approaches sexuality both analytically and with a sense of wonder, recognizing its potential for empowerment, self-realization and healing. As her time was so short, Andrea Éva felt an urgency to share and make visible, so that her experience might serve as a reservoir of emancipatory potential — on multiple fronts.

After graduating from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Budapest, Andrea Éva Győri went on to study at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Stuttgart, receiving multiple grants, scholarships and awards, including artist-in-residencies in Seoul and Maastricht. Her hundreds of works span multiple mediums, including painting, drawing, sculpture, performance and video. Győri’s work has been shown at international institutions including the Kunsthalle Wien and Dordrechts Museum (both 2023); Argos Centre, Brussels (2022); Ludwig Museum, Budapest; Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht; Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, and Witte de With, Rotterdam (all 2019); Haus der Kunst, Munich, and Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art, Middelburg (both 2018); Seoul Museum of Art, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, and Bonner Kunstverein (all 2015); Seoul Art Space (2014); to name a few.

Her most recognizable series, Vibration Highway, was presented at Manifesta 11, Zürich, and published as a book in 2018.

We thank the team at acb Galéria, Budapest, for their help in organizing this exhibition.