Daniel Szalai (b. 1991) is a Hungarian visual artist. His work explores human-animal relationships and reflects on socio-political and ecological issues. He studied photography at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, and also holds a degree in art and design theory. He is currently a doctoral candidate in multimedia art at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. Szalai's work has been presented internationally in solo and group exhibitions and has been widely published in online and print media. His first monograph, Novogen, was published by The Eriskay Connection in 2021. He lives and works in Budapest.
EDUCATION
2021 - · Multimedia Art (Doctoral Degree), Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, Hungary
2017 - 2019 · Photography (Master of Arts), Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, Hungary
2018 - 2019 · Photography (Erasmus Scholarship), University of Applied Arts Vienna, Austria
2009 - 2012 · Art and Design Theory (Bachelor of Arts), Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, Hungary
2011 - 2012 · Integrated Design (Erasmus Scholarship), Köln International School of Design, Cologne, Germany
2007 - 2009 · Fotográfus.hu – Foundation for Hungarian Photography, Budapest, Hungary
RESIDENCIES
2024 · Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany
2024 · Kulturverein Salettl, Kleine Stadt Farm, Vienna, Austria
2023 · Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France - Budapest Gallery Artist Exchange Program
2021 · Artificial Intelligence and CAD Systems Lab, Sofia Tech Park, Bulgaria - AI Residency by Goethe Institut
AWARDS, GRANTS
The Author Book Award 2022, Rencontres d'Arles - Shortlist
Best Photography Book of the Year Award 2022, PHotoESPAÑA - Shortlist
The Best Dutch Book Designs 2021 - Selected by the Student Panel
Nominee for Prix Pictet 2021 ‘Fire’
Selected artist for Futures Photography 2020
Nominee for C/O Berlin Talent Award 2020
Emergentes 2020 - International Photography Award Encontros da Imagem - Finalist
József Pécsi Photography Grant 2020
Blurring the Lines 2020 - Special Mention
LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2019
Anni and Heinrich Sussmann Foundation Open Call 2019 - Winner
ON Award 2019
Gibellina PhotoRoad 2019 - Call for Projects Winner
Rector's Award - MA Graduate of the Media Institute in 2019, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design
Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2019 - Finalist
Nominee for Prix Pictet Commission 2019
Carte Blanche Award 2018, Paris Photo
Selected artist for PARALLEL - European Photo Based Platform, 2018
1st prize at Budapest Portfolio Review 2018, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2024
Digital IV – Coexistence, Fotogalerie Wien, Vienna, Austria
Daniel Szalai: Novogen, Photaumnales, Beauvais, France
Daniel Szalai: Kutya, Kulturverein Salettl, Vienna, Austria
Daniel Szalai: Unleash Your Herd’s Potential, Wunderkammer Naturalia / Artificialia, Stuttgart, Germany
(In)visible Labor, Kabinett, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany
2023
RE/construction, organised by Picto Foundation, Paris Photo and SNCF Gares & Connexions, Atelier de l’image, Arles, France
Daniel Szalai: Unleash Your Herd’s Potential, presented by Les Boutographies, Galerie Huit, Arles, France
Future Perfect, Fotodoks festival, Munich, Germany
Learning from Nature, OMNEFEST 2023, Villa Bolasco, Castelfranco Veneto, Italy
Les Boutographies Official Selection 2023, Montpellier, France
On the Verge, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark
I’m Afraid I Can Do That, Torula, Györ, Hungary
Urban Animals, Szombathelyi Képtár, Szombathely, Hungary
Like You and Me - Young Hungarian Photography, Mai Manó House, Budapest, Hungary
On the Verge, Fotofestiwal, Lodz, Poland
Getaway, Utopias Lahti Visual Arts Festival, Lahti, Finland
I Don’t Know How to Respond to That, PhMuseum Days 2023, DumBO’s Spazio Bianco, Bologna, Italy
Human x Nature, CHARTA Photobook Festival, Rome, Italy
Alchemy of Knowledge. Transdisciplinary Entanglements of Artificial Biology, Robotics and Art, aqb Project Space, Budapest, Hungary
2022
Dániel Szalai: Unleash Your Herd’s Potential, Trapéz Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
On the Verge. Seven young European photographers, CAMERA Torino, Turin, Italy
COEXIST. Liberty, Equality, Biodiversity!, Fotofestiwal, Lodz, Poland
Nature's Commodities, Superfuture Design Festival, Galerie BOHAI, Hanover, Germany
NATURE FUTURE - Young European Photography, travelling exhibition, curated by Fetart, presented in Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Magdeburg, Stuttgart, Bremen, Erlangen, Germany, and in Prague, Czech Republic
Daniel Szalai: Unleash Your Herd’s Potential - Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Monuments of Impermanence, Szent György-hegy, Hungary
The 2022 Book Awards, Les Rencontres d’Arles, France
The Best Dutch Book Designs 2021, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Best Photography Books of the Year, PHotoESPAÑA Gallery, Madrid, Spain
Photo-book Library, Belfast Photo Festival, Botanical Gardens, Belfast, Northern Ireland
2021
Extended Atlas, Parallel Review Lisboa 2021, Lisbon, Portugal
Genesis 2:1, Encontros da Imagem, Braga, Portugal
Bite the Hand that Feeds You, PhotoIreland Festival, Dublin, Ireland
FORMAT21: Control, FORMAT International Photography Festival, Derby, UK
Fotografia in Collezione: una nuova sfida, Fondazione Orestiadi, Images Gibellina, Italy
Daniel Szalai: Flying Rat, gallery Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
Pécsi József Photography Grant 2020, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest, Hungary
Common Set, Studio Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2020
Daniel Szalai: Novogen, PHOTOIS:RAEL, Tel Aviv, Israel
The Elevator Chats - International Exhibition by Futures and Capa Center at Art Market Budapest 2020, Hungary
Szalai Dániel: Stadtluft, FFS Overview #3, K.A.S. Galéria, Budapest, Hungary
Daniel Szalai: Novogen - ON Award 2019 Winner, OFF Bratislava, Slovakia
Lost and Found, Fofoto, Budapest, Hungary
2019
The Light from our Side Shines Differently – Parallel Review Lisboa 2019, Lisbon, Portugal
mixing/ Memory – exhibition by BredaPhoto, Yangzhou Cultural Center, China
LensCulture Discoveries 2019, Galerie Joseph, Paris, France
New Translation, Galéria Alfa, Kasárne/Kulturpark, Kosice, Slovakia
Hurt Locker by MOME, OFF Bratislava, Slovakia
Zeitgeist – Parallel Intersection Budapest 2019, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest, Hungary
Daniel Szalai: Novogen - Athens Photo Festival, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Supernatural - Grand Prix Fotofestiwal, Fotofestiwal 2019, Lodz, Poland
Instinct, Cankarjev Dom Cultural and Congress Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Daniel Szalai: Novogen, Budapest Park - Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest, Hungary
A Fork in the Road, Foto Wien Festival Centre, Vienna, Austria
Conditio Inhumana, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
2018
Let’s Play, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest, Hungary
Carte Blanche Étudiants, Gare du Nord, Paris, France
Parallel Intersection Zagreb, Organ Vida Festival, Zagreb, Croatia
To Infinity and Beyond, BredaPhoto 2018, Breda, Netherlands
Novogen by Daniel Szalai, Capa Center at Art Market Budapest 2018, Hungary
Nyitások, B32 Galéria, Budapest, Hungary
WORKS IN COLLECTIONS
Fondazione Orestiadi, Gibellina, Italy