“During the painting process I trust in my actual instincts. Working intuitively is a refuge, which not only shields from the external world, but creates connection. I calm down, when the brush caresses the canvas, but when the paint splashes, the palette knife scratches, I break through the grip of the world with the lively expressive action of painting. On the canvas, sometimes thick oil paint is mixed with bone ash or marble dust curls so that is cracks like the dry earth, but some areas are left empty as if a storm had swept through the image.”

— Tibor Simon-Mazula

**Photo credit: Diana Simon-Mazula** | CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

A Brief Overview

Tibor Simon-Mazula, a Hungarian artist, works intuitively. He seeks solace in painting's tactile and tangible features. Tibor paints personal dream-like images of persons and locations that are important to him. His works are also influenced by his experience in mathematics and cinematography. His wife, friends, and travel partners are all sources of inspiration for him.

Tibor Simon-Mazula and His Craft

The paintings depict actual everyday scenarios of genuine things and people in their natural surroundings. His subjects include single bathers, a charming character on a sofa, a bending lady, and a family standing on the beach

His paintings include memory pieces from his life in Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, and California, during which he found and grasped individual identity, solitude, and the yearning for relationships.

His intellectual background is combined with an observational approach. Precisely created spontaneous images captured a trice of repeated personal drama and present obscure settings from a unique viewpoint.

A mysterious figure gazes out the window of a new flat, waiting for her companion, or a lone figure returning home from the daily treks relaxes and recovers.

The Innovative Medium for Tibor’s Artwork

Oil painting is Tibor's primary medium. His work, nevertheless, also includes drawings and short videos. Graphics are broken down into their fundamental elements: composition, texture, color, and scale. This helps in the recollection of both the artist's and the observer's thoughts. It also makes it easier for the spectator to connect with the issue.

The weight created by rich texture contrasts with an uncluttered surface in a rhythmic pattern on the painting. Ingredients like bone ash, marble powder, and alum are fused in an artistic process to create a teethe texture and an accurate 3-dimensional picture. The presence of a rough surface does not imply that it is violent. Instead, it expresses the difficulties that people face through free expression

Tibor’s Symbolic Color Palette

His color scheme is comprised of a variety of grays. This palette generates a peaceful, rather than aggressive, atmosphere. Similarly, the massive scale also adds to their appeal and emphasizes their purpose

Ordinary individuals are unique because their seemingly insignificant adventures and settings may relay the fundamental and universal emotions that people seem to share, displayed in heavily textured big figures obscured with restricted hues.

Regardless of our particular perspectives, our lives are one-of-a-kind. People, in essence, confront the same issues in various forms with comparable feelings, such as the loss of a home and the search for safety, as well as aspirations and delusions fueled by excitement and tranquility.

Tibor’s Life Journey and Enlightenment

Tibor and his wife left Europe in 2008 and relocated to West Asia. His passion for the Bay Area Figurative style drove him to California shortly afterward, earning his MFA in Painting.
In 2013, he received the Academy of Art University's Emerging Artist Award, which came with a two-month solo show in downtown San Francisco.
Tibor was displayed among modern masters of art such as MC Escher and Don Ed Hardy at the Marin Museum of Contemporary Art and White Walls Gallery in San Francisco in 2015. His art was showcased at SCOPE Miami Beach as a winner of the 2015 Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Contest.
In 2016, DAX Gallery in Costa Mesa displayed his artwork with Keith Haring, Ben Eine, and Plastic Jesus.
Tibor's art was on display at Florida State University's Museum of Fine Arts in 2018. Following year he had a commercially successful exhibit at Hungary's Munkácsy Mihály Museum and published a fine art book Pure Beauty (which includes texts written specifically for a book by American and Hungarian artists, writers, poets and musicians).
From 2021 to 2023 Tibor's artwork have been on display at Art Taipei, Taiwan. In 2022 all of his works sold out at Art Taipei and Art Taichung.
Tibor's exhibition sold out immediately when he made his debut in Korea in 2023. His 2024 solo exhibition in Seoul and his art were covered by more than 40 newspapers including leading media such Global Economic, Seoul Culture Today, Beyond Post and the No. 3 economic daily - sports and entertainment news: The Daily Korea.

Tibor's paintings have been featured in journals and books worldwide, and received various accolades. Today, the artist resides in Budapest with his wife Diana, who inspires his works.