Twelve-year-old Karolina Sávolt started painting self-taught two and a half years ago and this year she has already had her own exhibition in Budapest, where collectors have bought her paintings for millions. Not by accident, for the magical realist style of this girl is unmistakable. She is an excellent student, speaks foreign languages and plays tennis as a member of the national team of her age group, and produces stunningly mature and impressive works on canvas. We interviewed Karolina (S.K.) and her father, Dr. Ákos Sávolt (dr.S.Á.), an oncologist about her artistic journey, which started successfully even internationally at a unique young age.
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.
Hungaricum laude 