"For me, painting comes naturally" – Karolina Sávolt amazes with her magical realism at the age of 12

Karolina, when did you first feel the inspiration start to work in you, how did painting start to make its way into your life?

S.K.: In January 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, my brother and I stayed at home and studied online. I did a lot of drawing during that time, of course I had been drawing since I was a very young child, but a lot more at the time. One day my parents noticed one of my drawings on my desk and asked me what my plans were for drawing. And I told them I wanted to start painting...

Ákos, as a father, how did you react to your daughter's new hobby, how did you feel when you saw her first works?

Dr. S.A.: Since there are no painters in the family, Karolina has brought a whole new world into our family with this field. Every day it is a great joy to see her talent unfold.

Karolina, how have you experienced the last two years? Do you feel that you have embarked on a journey that could take you very far? Do you plan consciously or do you prefer to let things happen on their own?

S.K.: Painting comes naturally to me, but at the same time I plan each piece carefully. I don't have a teacher, so everything I know I learned in the online space, what I was curious about I looked up online and got the answer. Where this path will take me, I don't know yet. I have goals, including how I can help others to learn visual arts, but what will happen later is a secret for the future.

All I know is that painting will always be a part of my life.

Ákos, how much have you had to reorganize your family's life and Karolina's life? Can your daughter manage on other fronts - school, extra lessons, sports - as well as painting?

dr. S.Á.: Karolina's life has not changed. She still goes to school, where she is an excellent student, and plays sports every day, moreover, she is a member of the national team of her age group in tennis. What has changed is her free time, which she spends entirely on painting. She comes home in the evening and until she goes to bed, she plans and paints as she pleases.

Karolina, can you describe what you want to communicate, to show with the painting?

S.K.: At my spring exhibition, I found that the messages my paintings held could be transmitted to people, to young people. Acceptance of each other, environment protection, animal and nature conservation, everything that my series Wonders of the Universe were about... I'm also very happy that many people have written to me on social media to say that they like my paintings, and there was even a class of high school students who wrote during their art class that they were talking about one of my paintings and that the picture was projected on the wall. In fact, almost all of my friends and many of my acquaintances have started painting, which must mean that I have an influence on young people.

Ákos, your profession - and that of others in your family - requires that you give a hundred percent or more of yourself to succeed (Karolina's mother is Dr. Tünde Szabó, a former Olympic silver medalist swimmer, and her uncle is Attila Sávolt, a former Olympic tennis player - editor). Can Karolina carry on this "legacy"?

dr. S.Á.:

I think the talent that comes with genetics is not worth much without diligence. This is true in sports, civil society, and in the arts.

Karolina is a very hard-working, determined little girl who is also strong-willed enough to know what she wants and to achieve it.

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Left: Karolina Sávolt and dr. Ákos Sávolt; right: Karolina painting – Photo: Sávolt family

Karolina, to what extent do you incorporate the feedback you get on your paintings into your new works? Are you inspired by the opinions of others or do you create more from your own inspiration, intuitively rather?

S.K.: Since I don't have a teacher, nobody influences what I create or want to paint in any way. That's why I have so many styles in my work, and the combination of all of them has now resulted in a unique style of my own. I like to use a lot of paints, I like dimensional spaces, and I like realistic movement, but at the same time, 15th and 16th-century painters are my big favourites. From all this, I have developed my own magical realist style...

Ákos, what does it mean to the family that your daughter is doing something that is perhaps unique in the world, considering her age and talent?

dr. S.Á.: I agree, this is absolutely how I see it, how I feel. My wife and I have the task to support our child in everything she wants. We've been living in this for two years now, and her art has only been known to the general public since the exhibition. Karolina has been invited to many places, even to exhibitions abroad, which are being organized. Because of her age, as she only turned 12 years old last May, the organizers want to use the high-tech technology of the 21st century, i.e. they are preparing a so-called immersive exhibition. It wants to show her wonder not only in our country but also in international art fields, in big cities abroad, and in many parts of the world.

Karolina, apart from painting, what else do you like to do? Are there any of your works that are particularly close to your heart?

S.K.: I love animals and nature, but I also enjoy the theatre and art history. I read a lot and of course, sport and exercise are very important to me. I enjoy learning languages, I speak English and Spanish very well, which I think is very important to understand

The beauty of art is that it has a different message for everyone.

Ákos, your field of work is a difficult one, where besides uplifting cases there are obviously depressing experiences. Do Karolina's works of art help you to get away from the everyday?

dr. S.Á.: Karolina's paintings are full of energy, which is palpable even if you stand in front of them and look at them. The colours, the beauty, and the positive message really relax me after a hard day or even a week.