In József Csató’s new series, there is a barely noticeable shift from his previous work: his creatures are slowly moving away from their natural habitat. Although in many of his paintings these mushroom-like, plant-animal hybrids still dwell in their own gardens, forests or underwater realms in a proliferating and carnivalesque manner, we can observe this gentle migration towards our ordinary spaces. As the outside and inside merge in Csató’s works, that's emphasized by the sometimes more upfront, other times more obscure motifs of curtains and doors, the beings leave the groves of the forest and take their exuberant presence somewhere else: in our homes. Are they helpful souls or harmful spirits? Do they resemble the brownies or hobgoblins from Scottish folklore who perform household chores after the family goes to sleep? Are they malicious shapeshifting tricksters? Or do they refer to those moments when an object suddenly resembles a strangely familiar shape – a face for instance?

As Csató continues his experiments with classical genres like still-life and landscape painting, the viewer might start to wonder about what is more real – what we experience in our everyday life or that other world behind the curtain? What happens when the two worlds meet? His paintings function as portals to “other realms”. As we look behind the veil, we can discover these unknown territories. The colorful imaginary places – inspired by the surrealistic tendency of vivid dreamscapes – are welcoming, even with their strangeness and we might want to bring back something from that side to our everyday “grayness”. However, it is also possible that this is not our decision: the portal won't be closed so easily and we can't stop the creatures from entering our living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. Fragmented into body parts or unrecognizable details they are there, to make our everyday life less monotone and static. They encourage us to imagine, to play, to be curious – much like a child – which we often forget how to do. A gesture of hospitality: tables set allude that they are most welcome by us.

Csató’s paintings encourage us not only to look beyond the – often invisible, obscured – veil / curtain / door but to let that imaginary and unknown world take over our daily struggles. The seemingly chaotic composition of the paintings is not frightening but liberating, calling human and non-human entities to unite and emphasizing that there is no danger in disappearing in this entropy: it's just a game, it’s just a dream. This is emphasized by the technique used by the artist: the scraped off layers of the oil and acrylic reveal new dimensions (another open portal?) of the painting as well as the gesture of the collage, which is also reminiscent of surrealistic traditions. As the artist playfully balances between organic and inorganic, abstraction and figuration he constantly rethinks their relationship, thus challenging the viewers to perceive every painting in a different way. The anthropomorphic forms which resemble well-known objects like vases, candle-holders, cups or the Sun are guiding us through our visit and help us to find balance and support – both in the paintings and in our daily life.