Herbarium of Time II
2024, exhibition project
The minimalist and consistently restrained installation by Kristián Németh seeks to stop the flow of time and capture an ephemeral moment that, under normal circumstances, quickly escapes our gaze. The central motif of the exhibition is flowers – symbols of life, beauty, and at the same time, its transience. Németh does not view them merely as decorative objects, but examines them as bearers of meanings that transcend their natural cycle.
The artist enters their existence just before wilting. With his artistic gesture – applying resin – he becomes the curator of their beauty, the conservator of a moment in which life is still present. The smooth, glassy surface of the preserved flowers evokes a sense of eternity, yet beneath it, a quiet process of transformation takes place. The flowers fade, lose volume, and life gradually slips away from them.
Németh thus gently, yet persistently, leads us to reflect on the nature of time and transience. His work does not rely on dramatic gestures, but on silence and contemplation. He poses questions that are as old as humanity itself, yet gives them a new visual form. Is not the brief, yet intense existence of flowers an image of accepting finitude – and at the same time, a celebration of life?
The artist enters their existence just before wilting. With his artistic gesture – applying resin – he becomes the curator of their beauty, the conservator of a moment in which life is still present. The smooth, glassy surface of the preserved flowers evokes a sense of eternity, yet beneath it, a quiet process of transformation takes place. The flowers fade, lose volume, and life gradually slips away from them.
Németh thus gently, yet persistently, leads us to reflect on the nature of time and transience. His work does not rely on dramatic gestures, but on silence and contemplation. He poses questions that are as old as humanity itself, yet gives them a new visual form. Is not the brief, yet intense existence of flowers an image of accepting finitude – and at the same time, a celebration of life?
