László von Dohnányi b. 1990

László von Dohnányi (b.1990, Hamburg, Germany) lives and works in London. He received a BFA from the Ruskin School of Art at the University of Oxford in 2012, a BSc in Architecture from University College London in 2015 and an MA Painting from the Royal College of Art in 2021. László has exhibited in London, Hamburg, Berlin, Budapest, Miami and New York City. His most recent solo show was Divining Network at Long Story Short Gallery, New York City in 2023.I am fascinated by the digital aesthetics of technologically-generated images, in particular those of CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) with its often synthetic, deadpan and slightly uncanny seeming worlds.

ILászló von Dohnányi explains: "in my work, I explore the reciprocal influence between these technological images and painting. My process starts in the digital format; sourcing virtual 3D models from the Internet and using architectural modelling software to distil the data down to forms and shapes that resonate with me.

Central to my practice is the notion of remediation; the concept that new media transform and refashion prior media forms. In my painting, I explore retrograde remediation (when an older media in turn adopts features of a more recent media) by incorporating aesthetic characteristics such as the hypermediated interfaces, ultra-sharp edges and aesthetic over stimulation back into painting. In my painting I explore ideas of alienation and fragmentation as a by-product of technological advancements as well as concepts of biomimicry.

By mixing references to an older pictorial tradition with those of cutting-edge 3D digital-modelling tools, my paintings operate at the intersection between digital and analogue image creation. When painting, I adhere to principals that mimic the idiosyncratic characteristics associated with the technological creation of images. Whereas traditional painting relies on a three-dimensional layering of paint, digital or printed Imagery is truly flat. My painting process relies on a collage like ‚cut and paste’ method, resulting in the surface of the paintings being painted in one layer only, as a means to recall the truly flat 2D surfaces of printed or digital imagery.