The Third Hand

The Third Hand presents the multi-faceted and experimental practice of Marton Perlaki. It captures the five year period from 2018 to 2023, during which time Perlaki moved from making figurative to abstract work. The title, The Third Hand, refers to an unknown force which, for Perlaki, exerts a quiet but powerful influence over the act of making work. Chance, seductive and unknowable, dictates that even if a series of steps are followed in exactly the same way, the outcome will be different. This potent magic plays a crucial role within his process. The book presents an enquiry; how can you give a concrete form to a practice which is continually reconfiguring itself? The accumulation of twelve discrete sections – individual ‘edits’ disentangle the strands of Perlaki’s deep and rigorous practice whilst demonstrating the ways in which they are intertwined.

The Third Hand presents the multi-faceted and experimental practice of Marton Perlaki. It captures the five year period from 2018 to 2023, during which time Perlaki moved from making figurative to abstract work. The title, The Third Hand, refers to an unknown force which, for Perlaki, exerts a quiet but powerful influence over the act of making work. Chance, seductive and unknowable, dictates that even if a series of steps are followed in exactly the same way, the outcome will be different. This potent magic plays a crucial role within his process. The book presents an enquiry; how can you give a concrete form to a practice which is continually reconfiguring itself? The accumulation of twelve discrete sections – individual ‘edits’ disentangle the strands of Perlaki’s deep and rigorous practice whilst demonstrating the ways in which they are intertwined.