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SUGAR RUSH

Galerie Droste, Düsseldorf

02 September—22  2022

In her first solo exhibition at Galerie Droste, titled SUGAR RUSH, the Hungarian artist Mira Makai
transports us into a cosmos full of possibilities, happy coincidence and nostalgia.


This self-created universe is inspired by video games and virtual realities that seem equally familiar as
they are populated by characters and scenes from early computer games. Through this positive
atmosphere, Makai allows us to escape from our reality into a world full of friendliness, openness and,
above all, magic. She feels it is an elementary part of life to leave the heaviness of current events
behind and lose oneself in daydreams regularly.

All her paintings and ceramics are united by a sweeping gesture and an esprit of the spontaneous.
Each sculpture, for example, is created in a multi-stage creative process, beginning with freehand
modelling, and ending with a final firing of glass powder mixed with colour pigments. This results in
sculptures and canvases that resemble sweets and are inspired by Kawaii Culture and Candy Core
Aesthetics. The mind-expanding possibilities that digital worlds offer us become tangible and
experiential through Mira Makai's works. It is not surprising that the artist describes the moment when
she opens the oven for the last time as a "magical entry into a parallel universe". This pure joy of life
is palpable in every single one of her works.


At the same time, more uneasy references can be discerned in her dynamic works. Three Wishes,
for example, is reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, which in itself carries an
ambiguity. The dragon-like figure Guardian seems to protect us but is blind. Her exhibition SUGAR
RUSH is thus not limited to positivity at any price. Rather, it is a representation of the possibilities in
our lives. An invitation not to close ourselves off to the effects of colour, light and movement but to
perceive them as a source of strength. Makai's dream of better worlds shines all the way here to us.

 

Mira Makai (b. 1990, Budapest, HU) received her MA degree from the Hungarian University of Fine
Arts in 2016 in the class of Andras Lengyel. She lives and works in Budapest, Hungary

 

Text by Friederike Meyer

Photocredit: Simon Vogel

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