Figures on Stage

DESCRIPTION OF ARTWORK 

Tibor Nyilasi frequently attended productions of the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. During the summer, he attended the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario for its productions of classical plays. His artistic output was often inspired by the stagecraft of professional lighting, set design, and costuming which he experienced as an audience member. These must be integrated into a unified artistic expression to support the action and theme of the onstage story.  Figures on Stage is an example of one art form supporting another. The uniform palette, the solid footing of the stage, the highlights accented by spotlights and the darkness of the wings in the background are all from the arts of theatrical production.  The interpretation, however, lies with Nyilasi. The paint is applied in long, bold, vertical brush strokes which lack detail and the figures have a monumental solidity which makes them look oversized.  Nevertheless, they maintain their unique traits: one person is short, another is round-shouldered; and although they are a group, they face in different directions as though their attention