Zsolt Hlinka, the artist of our gallery has recently released his first book, which gathers various photo series shot in the capital city: introducing one of his favorite topics – symmetry – through a number of known and less-known spots. Due to this great event, we have highlighted four of our favorite pieces from the volume, with some interesting pieces of information about them. Get to know Budapest with us!

AUDITORIUM

The series captures the beautiful theaters of Budapest. The subject was an obvious one, as these interiors represent high quality and elegancy both in their material usage and in their detailing, and most of them are designed by renowned architects, so they are almost “artworks” by themselves. The highlighted picture, for example, shows the hall of the Opera House, in which the architectural and decorative elements of Miklós Ybl are still in their original states. These photographs were preceded by several-month-long consultation and organizational discussions, since it is not an easy task to find a timeframe when these spaces are empty and ready for photography.

URBAN SYMMETRY

Looking at one of the most famous series of our gallery, visitors often try to guess where the pictured buildings are located. Well, we have the answer: nowhere! At least not in their pictured forms: the details of the houses were digitally manipulated and mirrored, so we could almost say that the photographer has created new buildings by using existing real-life elements.

PARLIAMENT INSIDE

An unavoidable stop of Budapest’s symmetry tour is the Parliament: the neo-gothic building designed by Imre Steindl has no detail which doesn’t look exceptional on a photograph. And although the building is now considered a national jewel, back in its design and implementation phases the opinions were divided: many people found its styling to be distant from the Hungarian culture, and its interior was called ostentatious and overdetailed by contemporary artists.

UNDERGROUND SYMMETRY

You might like or dislike the unique stations of Metro 4, but one thing is for certain: they are sure to leave a mark on everyone. Two stops of this metro network – which might remind some of the version in Vienna – are award winning buildings: the Fővám Square and Szent Gellér Tér stations are both developed by Spora Architects, who received the Architizer A+ award for these works.

Inspiration!

MORE…

In April, we’ve launched our online webshop, and the last few months were spent in success: the feedback from our visitors show that our gallery offers an easy and safe way for shopping. In addition, last week we’ve received professional recognition: in 2017 our online service was awarded as the winner in the E-Commerce category of the Website of The Year competition.

This year marked the 16th time that the most prestigious Hungarian online marketing communication event was held, on which the professional jury evaluates the received applications on the basis of strict criteria and selects the most outstanding digital “artworks”.

Our gallery was entered in the E-commerce category, where 24 other webshops were represented (The list of nominees can be viewed on the link below).

The judges investigated the candidates extensively, and besides inspecting the design, user experience and responsiveness, they have also put major emphasis on creativity and the textual content.

We at Focus Gallery thank you for the recognition!

Have you ever encountered a case where a photo printed on canvas has faded over the years? Or a large scaled artwork got loose, and required re-tensioning to look great again? In Focus Gallery we offer wall decorations for the long term, so when we pick our materials and paints, we do it without trade-offs.

Printing on canvas has many advantages and positives, but it’s also important to take into account that they are extremely delicate. For example, they can not be placed into any point of the apartment, as they are particularly sensitive to strong sunlinght, drew, or extre heat fluctuations.

If we fit them with a frame, these qualities may be even more pronounced: wood frames can also be affected by excessive light and moisture, and let’s not forget the fact that they can significantly increase the weight of the work – especially in large sizes – and can not be installed on any kind of wall surface.

When framing, acrylic glass is often used for the sake of cost-effectiveness, but traditinal glass may break at temperature changes, and even on its own, it may be dangerous to the smallest family members or to our pets.

Bearing aesthetics, durability and security in mind, our photo prints are currently developed onto aluminum plate or to forex plate with acrylic glass. The advantages of these are:

Aluminium Plate

In our gallery we offer the choice of an 3 millimeter aluminum carrier, mounted with Canson Baryta Photographice paper in premium quality and wide color depth. The wall decoration created with this method is light, does not need a frame, and it is attractive even by its own. Its durability is outstanding, as the carrier is less susceptible to moisture and sunlight than canvas or wood. Both the paper and ink used during this printing method are resistant to aging, and they retain their brilliant colors for up to 80 years.

Alumínium Print

In addition to mounting, direct printing is also available when using aluminum plates. The essence of this technique is that the photograph appears directly on the metal surface of the brushed aluminum plate. Aside from being outstandingly durable, the artworks created with this method are also delivering an extraordinary aesthetic experience, where the unique metallic shine provides spectacular effects to the creation.

Akril glass

Acrylic glass printing has many advantages. First, it protects against UV rays, guarantees perfect colors, and also thanks to its excellent optical properties, it provides deeper colors and intensity for the photograph. Compared to regular glass it is resistant to temperature changes, its lighter and virtually unbreakable. This method ensures the highest quality and makes the artwork last a lifetime.

If you have any further questions about printing your photos and materials, please ask our colleagues for assistance. You can find our contacts by clicking the Contact button.

We recommend most of our images to be placed in homes and offices. This involves not only being able to see and fall in love with a piece of work, but also to think about the space we would like to install it in later on. A photo that has been carefully chosen can combine the various elements of the home, topping off the composition that is made from the different furniture, materials and colors.

Below, we’ll show you interiors in which we put our gallery’s outstanding creations and tell you, what guidelines we used to select these pieces.

1. The church of the urbanists

The decisive elements of the black and white interior are the huge, intertwined surfaces that are formed by the typical materials of urban construction: metal, concrete and plastic. To compensate for the homogenous elements, we chose a piece with rich detail that also carries the urban style. The picture takes on the sleek elegance of the apartment, but the red light has a playful element with the same colored chair. 

This photograph is a member of Urban Symmetry, click to see the picture and other creations of the series:

2. The bohemian Scandinavian home

Our second interior is another clean space, but has a totally different kind of the atmosphere. The characteristics of the popular Scandinavian style are the use of different wood and fabric surfaces, the playful design and the “elegant” homelyness. The color scheme is also decisive: the unity of whites, blues and browns are cut only by one or two smartly placed vibrant surfaces. The picture placed in the interior with the numerous shades of blue fits perfectly into the harmony mentioned above, and makes a great composition with the same colored sofa. 

The creation is a member of the Balaton series, see the picture and the other works of the series:

3. Ethereal elegance

If neither exaggerated minimalism nor bohemian homage is close to your heart, our third entourage will certainly appeal to you: the pleasant, black-and-brown-colored space is made cozy with beige carpets and golden cushions, but the main decoration of our room is definitely Auditorium No.6. The elegant photograph portrays gold and noble materials. It creates unity with the furniture, and radiates a unique and elegant emission. 

This piece is a member of the Auditorium series, view the picture and other creations of the series:

4. A place for the lovers of organic forms

For our fourth topic, we’ve chosen the perfect harmony of organic and artificial forms. The contrast between the homogeneous pure white walls with the warmer colored drapery, furniture and plants creates a cozy, yet modern interior, which is crowned by our nature-inspired photograph, Wild No.3. The abstract artwork highlights wood surfaces, and appears fresh, elegant. 

This artwork is taken from the “Wild” series, see this picture and the other creations in the series:

The most popular pieces of our gallery capture the beautiful Italy: among the photographs you will find the soft waves of Mediterranean hills, the colorful rooftops and the charming streets. These images undeniably bring sunshine to your home and make any space cozy. In our latest blog post we show 8 pieces of the series.

Photographs inspired by nature

Smuggle the endless tranquility of nature into your home with our landscapes! The scenery of a vibrant, blooming countryside creates a welcoming atmosphere even in modern, clean interiors. The pictures can be installed on their own, but they are also great as a set.

Tip: Combine wall paintings with wood surfaces, natural materials and live plants!

For lovers of Italian architecture

Whether you are in the mood of rural villages or in the diverse form of larger cities, you can find what you are looking for in our gallery! Due to the richness of detail of the colorful images, it is desirable to choose the wall art in large sizes to give them space to create their own mood.

Tip: Architectural forms should be displayed at other points of the apartment, such as lampshades and vases that resemble the shape of the domes.

Pictures for urbanists

The last two works of our article are a great addition to the modern, youthful spaces: they harmoniously fit with the other pieces of the interior, creating a fresh, vibrant effect with their clever visual worlds.

Tip: Both Italy No.2 and Venice No.1 are worthy to choose on an aluminum plate that adds a special metal effect to the wall art, further enhancing their modern look.

The French capital is a favorite of many, which is not surprising: beautiful buildings, cozy cafes, charming streets easily enchant visitors. Among the works of our gallery there are also many photographs that capture Paris: in today’s article, we selected the pictures of the iconic element of the city, the Eiffel Tower.

Paris No.1

The first piece of the series is a stunning Parisian view. The photography can be divided into two parts: the orderly forms of buildings are sharply separated from the waving surfaces of the sky and the two are linked by the graceful lines of the Eiffel Tower.

Merry-Go-Round

Compared with the former, the second picture of our article invokes a more dynamic and bohemian mood: looking at the tower and the colorful carousel in the night lights, we can imagine ourselves in the bustling city itself.

Eiffel No. 1

Our third chosen image focuses exclusively on structures and symmetries. Leaving the urban mood behind it, it looks at the architectural aspect of the iconic tower, which metal, static elements are in an exciting parallel with the organic forms of the sky.

Eiffel No. 2

The last photography of our article is probably the most exciting piece of the show. The abstract creation looks at the building from a completely new perspective: it has the effect of looking at a kaleidoscope.

Inspiration!

All of the images should be chosen with an aluminum sheet carrier because the metallic glitter gives an inimitable extra effect to the elements of the tower.

Water, and especially the Hungarian sea is a belowed topic amongst the pictures in our gallery. The photos show the thousand faces of Lake Balaton. In todays article we have collected the most popular pieces and the stories behind them.

Pier – sophisticated elegance

Our Pier is for symmetry lovers: the perfection of the metal and wood elements placed in the clean, massive water mass creates a pervasive effect that is broken exclusively by the organic waves of mountains and clouds. The far horizon, static elements and homogeneous surfaces capture the glorious beauty of the Balaton in a single moment. This photograph is limited to 10 pieces in our gallery.

Blue Ribbon – Blue Ribbon

There is no need to introduce the famous sailing competition: the decisive events of the Balaton life are the various sporting events, such as the blue ribbon. On the photograph, this time however, the movement and dynamics are not centered, but the craftmenship and the surfaces are. The uniqueness of the picture is enhanced by it being printed on a metal surface, that gives the image a metallic glitter.

Balaton No.4 – harmony of colors and shapes

The fourth piece of the series presents a popular moment at Lake Balaton: at sunset. The specialty of this photograph is that it tends towards abstraction: in the composition only the artistic conditions of the shapes and colors dominate. The image is a piece of our open collection, so it’s unlimited in our gallery.

Balaton No.6 – A classic sight

The sixth piece of our series about the Hungarian Sea depicts a well-known side of Lake Balaton: the combination of the defining forms, lines, colors and moods is completed by the beautiful composition and the harmonic color palette.

Inspiration!

Check out more photographs about the Balaton!

The latest series of our gallery presents the House of Parliament. The monumental building, declared a World Heritage site, is a key element of Budapest, which inspired many artists throughout history. Zsolt Hlinka has captured the Parliament from a perspective that we rarely see, from the inside.

A road to the House of Parliament

Symmetry and architecture are recurring elements in the art of our photographer. He deliberately explores the city’s special architectural solutions, and later on he has turned his attention to the interiors after the facades and exterior features. In the beginning, typical urbanist sites such as subways and abandoned factory buildings attracted him, but in recent series, he chose exclusive locations with high quality materials for his elegant images. The forerunner of the series is the Auditorium, which presents the impressive theaters of Budapest. The masterful architectural elements here attracted him and inspired him to capture other similar spaces.

The pictures

As we learned from the artist, he sees his works as “windows” that open the hidden symmetries of the capital to the viewers. Looking back at the untouched, solemn atmosphere of photographs, we really have the feeling of looking into some sort of secret world.

These elegant images can become perfect elements of any sophisticated home. It is also important to note that these photographs are recommended to be installed in large sizes to create the unique atmosphere.

New week, new photo exhibiton: the selected series this time is the Horizon, featuring the air, earth and water. The works show different landscapes in different seasons and times of day: we can see photographs with vivid sunset, stormy evening scenery and Mediterranean sunshine in the midst of the day. The common ground is the decisive, permanent composition that sets the variety of colorful images into a single set.

Harmony and balance

In our gallery, symmetry is a recurring element, which also appears on the Horizon images. Unlike in the urbanist pieces, however, they are much softer and finer in shape: blurred, muted bands that are shaped by the sky and reflected in the water. The peculiarities of the pictures are thus given by the skillfully captured natural symmetries and orderly elements.

Fine abstraction

Although on the photographs the water, land, clouds or even the sky are well recognizable, the creator does not portray them in the well-known form. Rather he breaks it down to their parts and focuses on the relationship between colors, contrasts, blurry, or sharp lines.

Most of the photographs in our gallery cover three themes: city, nature, and abstract form. Want to look behind the scenes? Read our article in which we present the three categories and most popular pieces.

1. City

Our artist, Zsolt Hlinka, is a real urbanist looking for the astonishing and hidden symmetries of the city with passion. In pictures depicting the special elements of domestic and international architecture, he mostly plays with the composition: looking for the connection of forms and colors instead of showing the buildings in their function.

2. Nature

Sometimes we have to leave behind the city’s fast-paced rhythm ourselves: so does our artist. The silent, majestic images perfectly illustrate the tranquility of nature. In this category, the protagonists are the huge masses of water, mountain ranges and green-lush plants.

3. Abstract

You can see twisted and alternative realities through the abstract works of our gallery: let the unknown, yet familiar places and moods capture you!