A Town on the Edge

An exhibition of Little Warsaw, László Rajk and Andi Schmied
2021
Curated by Andi Soós


“It has an effect only on the short term present, therefore it embodies the present view on the past or the future” – this is how architect, set designer and artist László Rajk (1949-2019) described provisional architecture including temporary buildings, sets and provisional spaces created for a specific occasion. This rebellious and ephemeral form of spatial design is also the medium of much of Rajk’s radical architectural vision.

The exhibition is related to this presence. The title A Town on the Edge refers to the geographical periphery, the deconstruction of the boundaries of architecture and the rebellious character of the artist.

I juxtaposed Rajk’s works with contemporary art practices that deal with urban space, its social and historical context, and through which the political dimension of architecture also comes to light.

I asked the artist duo Little Warsaw (András Gálik, Bálint Havas) and Andi Schmied to connect to a point in Rajk’s life and art with new or previously unpublished works. The artists from different generations explored not only the built environment, but also the human interactions in it and the nature of memory as well. These various artistic approaches revealed previously unknown links in the thinking of the four artists.