MEDITATION—Attila Konnyu in Hong Kong
MEDITATION
Attila Konnyu in Hong Kong
Time：Oct 1st to Nov 30th , 2025
Venue：VA Art Center @Mawan 1868, House 29
Organizer：Hong Kong VA Gallery
Supported by：Consulate General of Hungary in HONG KONG
Venue Partner：Mawan 1868
Curator：Vincent L.J. DENG
Attila Konnyu @Budapest
Attila Konnyu was born in Budapest, where he studied architecture at Miklós Ybl University. Konnyu began his film career in the 1980s, working as an executive producer for Hungarian Television (MTV) and as an artistic director for MAFILM Budapest.
In 2003, Konnyu directed and produced the "Radiomax" party at the Amnesia Ibiza club (recognized as one of the best global clubs at the time) on Ibiza Island, Spain. In the 2010s, he directed and produced numerous short films while also working as a screenwriter.
Konnyu has traveled extensively around the world, having visited Australia, as well as numerous countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, and the Pacific Islands. He lived for three years in the picturesque Mediterranean countries of Italy and Spain.
During his time in Europe, Konnyu met with two renowned abstract expressionist artists: Karel Appel (of the CoBrA group) in Tuscany, and Emil Schumacher on the island of Ibiza.
After moving to the United States in 2013, Konnyu's experiences and inspirations there reinvigorated his passion for filmmaking. Since 2016, he has been collaborating with American partners in the fields of modern film and entertainment art.
He is a producer, director, and writer for film and theatrical productions, employing innovative processes that integrate complex artistic forms such as musical composition, visual computing technology, and a unique new form of ballet dance.
His film Awakening utilizes 3D video projection mapping technology, making it the world's first interactive dance theater and virtual animated film production. This work merges some of the greatest compositions by master composers with modern technology and a new, humanistic form of dance.
In Awakening, dancers are immersed within unique spatial and temporal imagery built from futuristic animations concerning life, romance, and the cosmos. Through the use of video mapping and spatial augmented reality projection mapping, Konnyu adds extra dimensions, optical illusions, and concepts of movement. The film is distinctive for its audiovisual narrative, which depicts the human inner world and the protagonist's journey to find life's meaning and achieve spiritual awakening. The rich combination of music, dance, and vivid colors in the film sparks the audience's imagination.
Since 2019, Konnyu has presented his work at leading institutions including the China Art Museum and the Chongqing Art Museum, where his practice has drawn both critical recognition and wide public engagement. His 2023 retrospective, Meditations, at the Yue Lai Art Museum (Chongqing), marked a pivotal moment in which the artist probed the dialogue between meditation and self-reflection, deepening his encounter with Chinese cultural traditions. In the wake of global transformations and a renewed personal vision, Konnyu has, since 2025, embarked on an exploration of Daoist philosophy - seeking inner tranquility amidst complexity, and opening new trajectories for his artistic language.
Meditation and Attunement:
Attila Konnyu's Artistic Journey in Eastern Contemplation
Attila Konnyu is an artist whose practice resists confinement to a single medium. His career was first shaped by film and theatre, where he orchestrated music, dance, and visual art through cutting-edge technologies, culminating in the epic production Awakening. Yet, beneath these expansive narratives lay a persistent inquiry: the interplay between the inner spirit and the cosmos. This search has guided Konnyu from the dynamism of moving images to the contemplative stillness of the painted canvas, and ultimately toward a profound engagement with Eastern philosophy.
By 2025, in the wake of global transformations and a renewed personal vision, Konnyu's artistic inquiry entered a new chapter. His practice turned toward a conscious engagement with Chinese Daoist philosophy, seeking harmony and inner stillness amidst complexity. This exploration does not rest on the surface of stylistic form, but strives to embody the essence of Daoist principles - the equilibrium of Yin and Yang, the dialogue between void and substance - translating them into a vibrant interplay of color, energy, and space across the canvas.
He current on Hong Kong's Mawan Island - a tranquil landscape just fifteen minutes from the city's urban core - stands as a testament to this synthesis. Here, the rhythms of nature, the pulse of the metropolis, and the contemplative traditions of Eastern philosophy converge. Meditation thus emerges as both a retrospective of Konnyu's recent journey and a new point of departure: an invitation to encounter a cross-cultural practice where the Western legacy of Abstract Expressionism meets the philosophical and aesthetic sensibilities of the East, opening a passage toward boundless perception.
