George Eastman Hall

Some see the world as one inhabited by beauty and joy. They share simple stories with us, quietly. They notice what brings joy and smile to the soul. Wherever they go, they find stories. They exist with such delicacy as if they weren’t even present; at the same time, they know the risks of small actions and understand that everything is cause and effect. They know that the world would be different if then and there would bring about other than that has happened, and they interweave the weight of this knowledge into their photos.

Judit Szabó is one of them.

Just barely taking form, the characters of her city-shots navigate on the boundary of themselves and their momentary roles, not giving up a bit of their individual personality but revealing more than the situation would allow for. Instead of distancing them, this shy revelation brings people closer and turns their everyday environment familiar. By highlighting momentary constellations, we become part of the city’s intimate stories by learning about its daytime dreams.

Gabriella Csizek

Judit Szabó
1955, Budapest

education, professional experience
after earning her secondary grammar school diploma, she graduated from the photography class of the Vocational Institute
1976 awarded with the photographer’s diploma
1974-76 interned at the Hungarian Film Laboratory Institutions led by Géza Dobrányi
worked as a photographer at FŐFOTO, later at the Newspaper Publishing Company as a lab assistant as well; also makes photo reports for smaller publications
1986- 98 lived and worked in the Netherlands
from 1998 worked in a lab in Budapest

Memberships
1981- 85 Studio of Young Photographers
from 1998 Association of Hungarian Photo Artists

Exhibitions / Individual
2010 Fotopasszázs (Photo Passage), Szentendre
2004 Kópia Galéria, Budapest
2000 Hungarian House of Photography – Mai Manó Gallery, Budapest
1994 Hungarian Cultural Institute, Paris
1993 Open Studio, Amsterdam
1990 F. S. Book store, Amsterdam
1987 Desmet Gallery, Amsterdam
1984 Hajógyári Művelődési Ház (Hajógyári Cultural Center), Budapest
1979 I. kerületi Művelődési Ház (1st District Cultural Center), Budapest

Exhibitions / group
2009 KOR HATÁROK NÉLKÜL (Age with no boundaries)
traveling exhibition: Budapest, Szombathely, Szekszárd, Eger,
1983 Hórus archive photo contest and exhibition, Gödöllő
1978 with Ilona Nyilas at the Gallery of the
Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest
1985 FFS club
1985 Pajta (Stable) Ábrahámhegy

Scholarships
1994 the Netherlands
2009 National Cultural Fund of Hungary

Publications / books
Zottigheid , Leiden 1992
Csak képek (Only photos) series 2006

In Collections
Hungarian Museum of Photography, Kecskemét
Bibliothéque Nationale de France, Párizs
Private collections