Spatial Cities in the East and South. Gyula Kosice’s Artistic Dialogue with Hungarian and Slovak Artists

Abstract

The article aims to reveal similarities between the artistic approaches of the Czechoslovakian-born Argentine artist Gyula Kosice and the Slovak art scene. Referencing Polish art historian Piotr Piotrowski’s concept of “horizontal art history”, the article focuses on the artistic dialogue between kinetic and op art artists developed during the Cold War period in the countries of Central Europe and Latin America. The goal of the article is twofold. Firstly, it will expose the specificity of artistic practices and strategies developed in non-Western art scenes. It also aims to reveal certain proximities among artists, especially those engaged in kinetic and geometrical art. Adopting a transnational and transmodern approach, the text will focus on Gyula Kosice’s contact with the Slovak artist Alex Mlynárčik, established through the French art critic Michel Ragon. It will also highlight similarities between Kosice’s hydrospatial cities, Mlynárčik’s architectural proposals realised with the VAL group in the 1970s, and the concept of prospective architecture coined by Michel Ragon.