Anita Kroo grew up living throughout the US and Europe. But it is Hungary she has called home for the last 10 plus years of her life. And it is Budapest which has served as the backdrop to her journey as an artist. Now, Anita tells me, it is time to move. It is in her blood; she craves change. Yet sitting so relaxed and at-home on the futon couch here at the community artist workshop, “Müszi”, I almost wonder if Anita will ever make that move. Here in Budapest, everything seems to always be changing; is it not enough?

Back in 2004, at the young age of 19, Anita was assigned to a group project entitled „Happiness”. She quickly states to me that she had nothing to do with the title. And yet for the next several years, you see a pervasive theme of memories and childhood, all wrapped up in bold, bright colors and shapes. She is searching back through her life, seeking her identity. And it is indeed „happy”.

It is not until 2012 that we see Anita start to emerge as an artist. And it was then that I first met Anita, inviting her to exhibit at a business/art evening at the company I then worked for. “Cityscapes” was the name of the series. As a fan of architecture, I was immediately drawn into the concrete shapes and commanding structures in her works. Her use of color was limited in most of the paintings but came blaring out in a couple, most pointendly „Shell gas station at Szena square”. Here the colors were as captivating as the sleek brushstrokes used to betray the buildings’ lines. It is a mezmerizing piece of comtemporary simplicity, both in terms of the subject matter as well as technique.

Most intriguing, however, was the growing absence of such color and delineated shapes. It is „Keleti railway station” which perhaps best announces this transition. We are forced to stare down the vast concrete staircase. The stone railings are absolute; however directly in front of us is a void, the dripping blue paint like unknown waters we are venturing into.

As her works progress, you see Anita’s brush turn to broad strokes, drips,and dribbles. Colors are grayer, dirtier, blurrier. We feel like we are melting into the city the artist has grown up in as she seeks to find the meaning within. „Hotel Budapest No.2” envelops us in an unescapable whirl of energy.

And then there is silence. We are given her pure lines once more in „Republic Square”. But they are completely overcome by the flood of paint dripping down the canvas. „Blaha Lujza underground” is pivotal; the flood has abated, the structure is there. But we witness only the fading lines of her once concrete forms and are drawn to the blank faces of the dreary figures who come and go. The kerschiefed women may be a testament to the Roma so predominant at Blaha, wandering, wondering. This piece is quite possibly one of Anita’s most powerful, both as a work of art and as a social statement.

Anita most definitely was still seeking greater definition as an artist. And in her „In Concrete” series we see a wiping of the palette so to speak, in preparation of something greater though we know not what. Still working within the realm of architecture, her buildings are now completely grayscale, empty and unrecognizeable. We are left with the skeletons of empty structures . . . . waiting to be completed and filled.

„Identity Swap” does the same though this time with people. The empty faces of Anita’s figures are not so much haunting as curious. Anita calls upon the „irreplaceable content of one’s self”. The figures stand before us; we know they have souls and memories but we are not allowed to see them.

We are not allowed in. And yet there is a beauty in the absence, in the privacy of their thoughts and intimate moments. „Water Memory” is a glorious rendering of subtlety. The delicate use of brush and color perfectly bring to life this Budapest bath scene. The laughter, sun and fun are right in front of us; the whispers, caresses and splashing are so unbelievably tangible. And yet they are nowhere to be seen. This is art.

Yet the arist’s own journey continued. Her works at this point allowed the viewer to imagine freely. But she herself had not yet found a meaning, a purpose to her brush.

It is in her most recent series, „Public Space versus Private Space”, that we see Anita Kroo the artist in full form. Not because she lacked talent before, and not because we did not impart meaning to her works. But because she had not yet found a message to give us, or moreover, think about. She had been wandering, searching. Then finally she had something to say.

Anita’s site itself states clearly her question in „public vs private”: what is luxury? More exactly, why do so many luxury homes mimic the cold contemporary world of office space? Or even better, why do the owners wants such a „home”?

True to her art, Anita does not force us to think one way or another. She simply places in front of us this paradox. Her style is now distinct: the lines, colors, structure, drips, dibbles and grays have now become fully integrated into her works in peaceful harmony. The blue of the pools is predominant, her strokes mostly broad. The skeletons of „In Concrete” have now been filled, yet in a way which allows us, the viewer, to reach our own final meaning.

Perhaps this is what draws owners to this style of house. Though perhaps cold and distant to some, contemporary architecture allows many a sense of freedom. The lack of decor for decor’s sake bespeaks a simplicity many now seek. And it enables the real memories, love, and family to be highlighted and celebrated without any fuss. Anita’s pools echo this contrast: a „restricted” space enveloping immeasurable freedom and fun, to be experienced and defined by us alone. Much like what we seek in art—our own meaning, our own memories, our own fun. This final series seems to have brought Anita full circle.

So what’s next? Anita has said she seeks change and is in fact dependent on it, that it is in her blood. Her grand-father was a Hungarian Jew who decided to stay in the Soviet Union post-holocaust while his sister fled to the US, the „promised land”. Anita’s father pursued his career as a professor of mathematics in the US only to return to Europe and eventually Hungary. Now Anita feels it is her turn to journey to the US and seek out her „promise”. I ask her what she hopes to find . . . . „inspiration”, she tells me, with gleaming eyes.

Back in 2004, Anita was part of a group project entitled „Hapiness”. I was not shown any of those pieces, but the playful, almost naive colors of her 2007 landscape series most definitely were exuberant as well as her following years of memory searching. Anita informed me she loved to play with color during this phase. Today, there is not a trace of naivity left in Anita’s art. And yet, her works betray a definite sense of „happiness”, of a different sort. One Untitled absract piece from 2009 would give us a glimpse of the artist she would become. It is grayscale with hints of peach and gold. There is something there . . . a figure perhaps. But we are not sure.

Thinking back to Anita’s faceless figures, „Water memory”, and those forms at Blaha, I wonder if she could not fully apply herself to a series of abstract portraits. Architecture has been her favored vehicle. Could she come full circle to the human form and its soul while leaving us to draw our own conclusions? Looking at this Untitled from so many years ago, I would love to see this journey.

Perhaps in New York she will find her inspiration. It appears, it is indeed time for a change; and hopefully there is even greater art to come.

Here’s to being, Anita Kroo.

Anita Kroo -  lives and works in Budapest, Hungary. To learn more about her and see all of her works, visit http://anitakroo.com/

Copyright 2015 Elizabeth Frommer. To republish please contact Liz by clicking here