Daniel Szalai is a Hungarian artist born in 1991. His works investigate peculiar manifestations of human-animal relationships and reflect on ecological, societal, political and economic anomalies.
Szalai studied photography at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, as well as integrated design at the Köln International School of Design. Besides, he also holds a degree in Art and Design Theory. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Multimedia Art at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest.
In 2020, Szalai was selected for the Futures Photography Platform. In 2018–2019 he was a participant of PARALLEL - European Photo Based Platform. Szalai has received a number of awards including the József Pécsi Photography Grant 2020; LensCulture Emerging Talent Awards 2019; Carte Blanche Award 2018 at Paris Photo and won 1st prize at the Budapest Portfolio Review 2018.
His works were presented internationally at solo and group exhibitions and published widely in online and print media such as Le Monde, FT Weekend Magazine, Parnass Magazine and Die Zeit. Szalai's first book Novogen was published in 2021 by The Eriskay Connection.
Szalai is a member of the Carte Blanche Collective and the Studio of Young Photographers Hungary. He lives and works in Budapest.
