Attila Richard Lukacs

Attila Richard Lukács (born 1962) is a Canadian artist.

Lukács gained international attention via his ''E-werk'' series—a collection of very large figure paintings that he created in the 1980s and 90s, while living in Berlin.

The paintings featured nude and semi-nude skinheads, who were depicted in heroic and classical poses in chiaroscuro, reminiscent of Renaissance art. The paintings were considered provocative due to their depictions of homosexuality, sadomasochism and fascistic symbolism.

Biography

Lukács was born in Edmonton, Alberta and grew up in Calgary. He is the second of three sons born to Joseph and Helen Lukács. His parents fled Hungary in 1956. His father worked as a petroleum engineer.

Having shown an interest in art since he was a young child, Lukács was encouraged by his father to apply to the fine arts program at the University of Victoria. Lukács did not enjoy his time at the university and enrolled at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in Vancouver in 1983. Later that same year he had his first solo exhibition titled ''Prime Cuts'', held at the Unit/Pitt Gallery in Vancouver. As described by Tom Barrett of the ''Vancouver Sun'': "The front of the gallery was fixed up to imitate a butcher shop. Inside, thick paintings of raw, red hunks of meat hung from the walls."

In 1984, Lukács took part in ''Futura Bold'', a joint exhibition with fellow Emily Carr attendees Angela Grossmann, Graham Gillmore and Derek Root. The following year the four artists' work, along with four other artists, was displayed at the Vancouver Art Gallery under the name ''Young Romantics''.

Lukács graduated from Emily Carr in 1985 and moved to Berlin the following year. While living in Berlin, Lukács had a studio residency at the , an old hospital that was converted into a collection of artist studio spaces. During this time he became interested in the skinhead subculture and used skinheads as models for his paintings, eventually socializing with and dressing like them. In a 1988 interview with ''Canadian Art'' magazine, Lukács said: "I definitely do not consider myself an official member of that society. I'm more like a voyeur."

Lukács work during his stay in Berlin was considered provocative because many of his paintings featured homoerotic and sadomasochistic motifs, mixed with military and fascistic symbolism. He drew inspiration in part from his childhood fascination with military cadets and memories of poring over military catalogues after having asked his father to send him to military school.

Lukács first exhibited his ''E-werk'' series in 1994, which consisted of six massive canvases that he had been created since 1986. The collection got its name from Lukacs' favourite Berlin nightclub (whose name is in turn the abbreviation of the German expression for a power plant.) The paintings depicted male figures in various poses, both classical and at times erotic, who also embody neo-Nazi esthetics and symbology, such as shaven heads, Doc Marten boots, bomber jackets, tattoos and swastikas. The collection garnered Lukács international attention and praise.

Lukács moved to New York in 1996 and held several shows at the Phyllis Kind Gallery.
His 1999 exhibition, ''Arbor Vitae'', featured a series of thirteen black-on-white renditions of a single tree and marked a dramatic departure from the style of his earlier works. Lukács did not find the success that he had hoped for on the New York art scene and suffered from a worsening addiction to methamphetamine. He left New York for Maui in 2001 to recover. While there, much of his work focused on paintings of flowers.

Lukács returned to Canada in late 2002. ''Drawing Out the Demons'', a biographical documentary film about the artist was released in 2004. The film was nominated for two Gemini awards the following year in the categories of Best Direction in a Documentary Program, for director David Vaisbord, and Best Performing Arts Program or Series or Arts Documentary Program or Series, for producers Trish Dolman

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