Mathe Laszlo

Mathe Laszlo (b.1990), First Prize Winner of the BBA Artist Prize 2023, is a painter from Romania based in Germany. He graduated from the University of Art and Design, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in 2015.

Laszlo’s paintings are inspired by Hans Prinzhorn’s collection of works made by mentally ill patients. Studying Prinzhorn and other collections, Laszlo’s attention turns to psychological subjects and he also uses his art as a playground of his subconscious. Laszlo is fascinated by human anatomy and by the classic painting representations which are used in almost all of his works. He is participating in group shows frequently in his country. 

His works presented in this exhibition, namely ‘The Little Prince’, ‘Tűzhely’, and ‘Trauma’, are strongly connected.

‘The Little Prince’ represents the idea of unconditioned playfulness, a safe world in which every human could find peace and consolidation. For Laszlo, creating oneself means a mystical playground of the subconscious, a place for healing after everyday traumas and also a place for unconditioned freedom. In that sense, The Little Prince is not a person but a personal perfect world, a feeling, and a desire to be as we were as kids. 

“Tűzhely” is a word in Hungarian that describes the place of home in the Hungarian tradition. As a Hungarian minority, Laszlo wanted to capture a safe place but also the potential origin of our struggles in our everyday life. So, ‘Tűzhely’ (Fireplace) presents us a warm and comfortable place but on the other hand is the source of packages that we all drag behind us, including our first traumas.