Glenn Brown in Budapest

While in Budapest I went to the Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art. Both the Ludwig and the Contemporary Art Museum in Budapest were hosting rival contemporary European video art exhibitions. But I felt that I had seen about as much video art as I could for the time being, so just viewed the Glenn Brown exhibition and the permanent collection at the Ludwig. This made the museum entrance fee kind of a rip off, but I was so confused by the HUF to Australian dollar conversion rate (100 HUF = $0.57AU) that at the time I had no idea how much it cost.

I never really got into Glenn Brown's work, only viewing it briefly in the many Art Now type books in which he is featured, but seeing it in person I have a new appreciation. The painting's surfaces are ridiculously flat and smooth. However, many of his paintings include painted depictions of brush strokes, so it produces kind of a tromp l'oeil effect. This was pretty effective I was often left wondering whether I was actually looking at his paintings, or just prints stuck on canvas. However this did not detract from their interest. They were surprisingly beautiful in the flesh.

The rest of the Ludwig collection was quite nice too, with a bigger emphasis on European artists, and especially painters, which for me is a bonus, however it felt quite small after all the American galleries. WHich was in a way nice not feeling overwhelmed by the volume of work seen, and actually being able to appreciate it and allow it to sink in.

Images from Ludwig Museum, Tate