KINGA JAKABFFY
BIO
As a queer artist to an immigrant family, Kinga Jakabffy (*1988, Bad Ischl) deals with questions of sexual ownership and identity empowerment. She often portrays caring interpersonal relationships between women, non-binary and trans people in self-aware poses, which are her attempt of raising attention to the fight for equal rights. This sense of loving collectiveness - which is one of the most important support systems in the LGBTQ+ community - may be depicted through dance, hugs or kisses. The subjects find a moment of warmth and freedom to be their true selves in the midst of inequality, abuse, harassment and even murder due to gender and sexual orientation.
Kinga‘s paintings echo a Mediterranean vibe, which unveils the softness and vulnerability, but also power of a person’s identity under the everyday mask. She is currently represented by the Viennese Gallery Kunst ab Hinterhof. Her autodidact artistic career and exhibitions of her work have been covered in multiple Austrian newspapers and international magazines. Kinga holds a master‘s degree in communication science and has a decade long experience in advertising. After studies and work in Sevilla, Montreal and Budapest, she now lives and works in Vienna.
ARTIST STATEMENT
A woman is choked unconscious by her ex-partner in her tobacco shop, doused with petrol and finally set on fire while alive. The woman dies a few weeks later from severe injuries. It's the shocking climax of a series of femicides that happen in Austria every year. It is almost always ex-partners or other men known to the victim who kill the women. Only a few meters away from my studio is the tobacco store where the said murder happened.
Many days after the crime I am angry, sad, dismayed and devastated by the injustice and brutal violence that happened to the tobacconist. I could be her, she could be me - it shoots through my head, because violence against women, non-binary, queer and trans people is a structural problem that does not stop at class, educational and ethical differences.
Art has always been a way for me to express my anger and feelings to political and social problems. I want to give space and representation to people who are particularly affected by such acts of violence or other forms of discrimination based on their gender, sexuality or race. I focus on the realities of their lives and make them the protagonists of their stories.
In confident poses individually and united in community I want to portray them free and self-determined, and thus create future prospects of equality for all of us. My art is beyond male-dominated perspectives and heteronormative ideas. It's about finding oneself, about knowing one's individual strength and enjoying personal freedom - in a society of solidarity and acceptance that includes a layer of deep individual struggle, too.
I work on questions of identity, love, friendship, sexual orientation and forms of authentic self. As a queer daughter of parents who fled to Austria from a repressive political regime, I grew up with issues and questions around these topics. My art will empower, show alternatives and spark the necessary conversations around difficult topics of inequality.
However deep the themes, my artworks are not gloomy. I carry the lightness, the freedom and the affection, despite the experiences of discrimination and violence. Often there is a binding element in my art that creates solidarity and community. Especially that connectedness and the diversity of subjects inspire me to my art.
ART EXHIBITIONS
13.8. 23 - 14. Aug. 2024 Del-Balatoni Kortárs Alkotomühelyi, Group Show, Szólád, Hungary
25. May - 29. June 2023 IDENTITÄT DES NACKTEN KÖRPERS, Group Show
Raum im Raum, 1070 Vienna
13. May - 30. June 2023 RAMI, Solo Show, 1070 Vienna
01. Feb - 31. July 2023 NO PANIC, Solo Show, 1070 Vienna
19-20. Nov. 2022 VIENNA ART WEEK, Open studio days
05.-06. Nov. 2022 POP UP BELLES CHOSES #1, mit Käthe Schönle, Lym Moreno, La petite galerie, Guckschatz, Atelierhaus Pelzgasse, 1150 Wien
06. - 11. Sept. 2022 PARALLEL VIENNA, 1180 Vienna
11. Nov. - 11. Dec. 2021 OPAK, mit Xenia Hausner, Erwin Wurm, Franz West, Franz Zadrazil, u.v.m., Leerstand Gallery, Kunst ab Hinterhof, Weihburggasse 11, 1010 Vienna
09. Nov. - 10. Dec. 2021 PRESS DAYS, Heroes & Heroines, 1070 Vienna
07. - 12. Sept. 2021 Parallel Art Fair, curated by Kunst ab Hinterhof, Vienna
25. - 29. May 2021 Support your local girl gang, Ausstellungsraum, Vienna
06. - 30. May 2021 Hoffnung. Group exhibition curated by Einflussraum, Vienna
08. Oct. – 31. January 2021 Nach wie vor. Group exhibition curated by Kunst ab Hinterhof, Orpheum, Graz
22. - 27.Sept. 2020 Parallel Art Fair, curated by Kunst ab Hinterhof, Vienna
23.-24. July 2020 Oxymoron Galerie, Lindengasse 65, 1070 Wien
15. May – 15. June 2020 Alone. Not Lonely. Group Exhibition, Einflussraum, Vienna
26. Apr. 2020 Junge Kunst Vol. Online Pt 04, Group Exhibition, Instagram
11. Oct. – 30. Oct. 2019 Wasserspiegel. Solo Show kuratiert von Junge Kunst, Süsswasser, Vienna
23. Mar. – 18 May 2019 Miniscule, Group Show, Crosslane Projects Kendal UK
8. Mar. 2019 Fundraiser Event Changes for Women by Improper Walls, Vienna
1. Feb. 2019 Art Attech, Group Show, The Loft, Vienna
20. Oct. – 6. Dec. 2018 Junge Kunst Vol 8.0, St. Art & Damani Vienna
17. Nov. 2018 Junge Kunst Markt, Damani Vienna
04. Sept. 2018 Creative Prism No. 4., Angewandte Innovation Lab, Vienna
26. - 29. Jun. 2018 Open Studio, Solo Show, 1090 Vienna
14. Feb. – 02. Mar. 2018 Clitical Talk RRRiot Festival, Improper Walls Vienna
03.-17. Nov. 2018 Wanderlust Solo Exhibition. Thompson’s, AT, 2018
AUCTIONS
6. Nov. 2023: MAK, 23. neunerhaus Kunstauktion
23.-24. July 2020 Oxymoron Galerie, Lindengasse 65, 1070 Wien
ARTIST RESIDENCY
Sept. 18 - 28, 2023: Paris, Le PréàVie at Le Pré-Saint-Gervais http://lepreavie.com/le-preavie/
August 22 - 29, 2023: Paris, Montmartre Rue Paul Albert
July 31 - August 13th, 2023: Lake Balaton Residency with 15 international artists
PRESS
Kultura.hu: Del-Balatoni Kortárs Alkotomühelyi
ORF.at: Wienerin malt bunte Kunst für Gleichstellung
June 2023 ORF. Wien Heute: 2,5 min. Video Interview
May-Aug. 2023 Absolut Vodka Collaboration
September 2022 Les Nouveaux Riches: Raum A311. Beyond Borders
September 2022 Wiener Zeitung: Die Kunstform der Vergesslichkeit
September 2022 Myculture App: PARALLEL VIENNA
September 2022 Die Stadtspionin: PARALLEL VIENNA
September 2022 Bohema Kunstmagazin: Lifting heaviness with lightness
September 2022 1000 things: PARALLEL VIENNA
August 2022 Bezirksblatt Wien: Ausstellung "Beyond Borders" – über Grenzen hinweg
March 2022 The Uncoiled Art Magazine Interview
March 2022 Petra Sittig The Artist's Voice Interview on Youtube
July 2021 Kultursommer, Bank Austria, The Wurst Agency
June 16, 2021 The Vienna-based illustrators you should hang on your wall
Oct. 2020 Frauendomäne Artist Portrait
Sept. 2020 Künstlerinnen Portrait Kingas Grapes, Kunst ab Hinterhof
Sept. 2020 Al-tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine, Artist Talk on Facebook Live
Sept. 2020 Talkaccino, Interview Artist Portrait
June 2020 Heute, Commission work for Austrian actress Kristina Sprenger
May 2020 Kronenzeitung, Exhibition Info Alone. Not lonely.
Oct. 2019 Krone.at, „WASSERSPIEGEL“ Wienerin begeistert mit fabelhafter Kunst
Oct. 2019 Kronenzeitung, Info Solo Show Wasserspiegel
PUBLISHING & SPEAKING
July 2019 Medium.com How do artists think? — An insight into the process of painting an artwork
July 2019 Medium.com How to be creative?
April 2019 Medium.com How I figured out a creative routine
April 2019 Medium.com My first year as a full time artist
Oct. 2018 Co-Hosting “1st Game of Creativity” Championship
Sept. 2018 Speaker @ Creative Prism No. 4.
July 2018 Creativity Gym Spotlight Interview
AWARDS
CCA VENUS 2023 Category Illustration. Projekt: #visible
Agency: gp rosenberg
Effie 2019
Staatspreis 2018
CCA VENUS 2018 Category Photography
Agency: TBWA\Wien
Campaign: Da passiert was.
Client: Österreichische Galerie Belvedere
Idea & Concept: Kinga Jakabffy
Photographer: Stefan Draschan
FUNDING
Förderung durch das Bundesministerium für Kunst, Kultur, öffentlichen Dienst und Sport, 2021-2023