9 Questions with MÀRK LAKOS

MÀRK LAKOS (1993) was born and raised in a small Hungarian town called Szolnok. Since elementary school, he had an interest in visual arts. He was a member of the school art club, where he was deeply involved in activities such as creating art for kindergartens or decorating the streets of the city. After completing his studies in petroleum engineering and having lived in numerous countries across the globe - USA, UK, Germany, Norway, Austria - Mark is currently living and creating art in St. Petersburg, Russia.

"Why do you paint?" - They often ask.

The inspiration for Mark's work comes from his surroundings and circumstances. Many of his paintings capture scenes from his travels across the globe, incorporating the emotions related to these journeys. He often walks hours to explore the cities and enthralling find sites, not paint them as they look, but paint them using unique compositions and perspectives to express his feelings and mood. With his work, he aims to confront the viewer with the intriguing and sometimes not so obvious beauty of our modern lives. The ultimate goal is to challenge the viewer's emotions and personal beliefs.

@lakos.mark

How did you start making art?

The first memory I have about making ‘art’ is back from kindergarten. As a kid, I was fascinated by balloons, and I drew large balloons with chalk on the concrete ground every day. The kindergarten psychologist did not find that normal and called my parents several times.

This experience, however, did not push me away from art. Later on, I was always keen to make my hometown a nicer place and painted several murals in Szolnok, Hungary. I had a lot of fun in that period. 

Many of your works capture scenes from your travels across the globe, incorporating the emotions of these journeys. How do you turn this into a painting?

I have lived, studied, and worked in seven countries. My life is a constant change. I have not painted much before the beginning of my cosmopolitan lifestyle. But since I left my comfort zone, my ideas are endless. Always different cultures, languages, people, surroundings, and circumstances. Sometimes fascinating journeys, sometimes super stressful business trips. All these factors together, with external and internal environments, influence my work. I enjoy capturing urban or industrial scenes, which are much related to and necessarily define the lifestyle of modern people. I turn these moments into paintings because I feel that with colors and perspective, I can tweak reality to depict the world as I conceive it.

What can you tell us about your painting building Berlin and Minnesota 2020? How did these projects come about?

Let’s say, when you see a construction site - like the one depicted on my painting titled Building Berlin - the first thing that comes to your mind is probably chaos, dirt, huge machines, and noise, but not beauty. However, when I looked at this site, I saw the whole thought process behind the construction, the idea, the design, the detailed engineering, and the final product, which should make people’s lives better.

And what does Minnesota 2020 mean to me? As a high school student, I spent a year studying in St. Paul, MN. This year was one of the most exciting years of my life. I have met great people and been part of amazing communities. The high school I went to, stpaulprep, was an international school, where the most important values were: equality, respect towards each other’s culture, and open-mindedness. I have learned many lessons about inclusion that I will always remember. I was very much inspired and formed by the people I met there and lived with. 

Seeing all the TV broadcasts, videos, and photos of the Twin Cities this spring made me very sad. The inspiration for this painting comes from the photos I took and footage recorded during the riots. It is a reminder of the values I have learned in Minnesota.

What is your creative process like?

In my creative process, discovering the initial concept, the emotion I want to capture is the most crucial and also the most exciting part. I will share with you an example. After several long weeks of lockdown, I finally had the chance to jump on a bus and go outside of the city. As I was standing on the bus, I was carefully observing the people sitting in the seats. I was listening to the conversations. I was looking outside the window, admiring the landscape. Even though it was a completely regular bus ride, I felt freedom, the feeling of exploring life again after sitting home for so long. However, life was not the same as before. It felt completely different. And I wanted a scene that accurately depicts this experience. So I took a picture from exactly my point of view, how I saw the interior of the bus, the people sitting, and the landscape that we were passing by. These are the moments that define my creative process, and this is how most of my works begin. I still have not finished the painting, but I can show you the photo and my initial sketch.

What obstacles do you face in making and exhibiting your work?

I like to think that I am a positive person. I do not concentrate on obstacles but more focus on opportunities. I genuinely believe that you can find opportunities in every situation, and it’s only up to you if you realize it or not. For me, creating something out of a plain white canvas is already an opportunity—an opportunity to express my true self and visions through art.

What artists inspire you?

I would not say that other artists directly inspire me. I usually get inspiration from my own life and experiences. But I can say that I enjoy the works of painters from the 19th and 20th centuries, like the works of Paul Delvaux or Mark Rothko, just to name a couple.

Any shows, galleries, or publications where our readers can find your work?

I share all my works on my Instagram account @lakos.mark, and I always share a little side story, for example, the inspiration of my paintings. Check it out and feel free to drop me a line if you like what you see.

What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future?

I am working on a series titled ‘self,’ which is influenced by the days spent under lockdown. It mostly explores my mind and emotions. These works show in a way how my life before the quarantine was, and what it has become. I use some relatively abstract elements in these paintings that I have not used in my previous works, to depict the change that I and my life went through. I have some ideas for the future, but I will keep that for myself now. Let me surprise you.

Márk, Share something you would like the world to know about you?

Curiosity.