Artist biography of Katalin Szabadi
Painter, writer, poet

Katalin Szabadi was born in Budapest in Hungary in 1954. She committed herself to art from a young age, predominantly but not exclusively to painting, for she also writes fiction and poetry. Her studies in Fine Arts started in 1968 when she enrolled the Secondary School of Visual Arts. After her graduation in 1972, she continued her studies in the Huber Dési Workshop. Among her masters were Károly Klimó, Attila Joláthy, László Péterfi and Rafael Ábrahám. In 1989 she was admitted to the School of Young Artists and to the Association of National Hungarian Artists (MAOE). From 1993 she has been a member of the Association of Artists of Kőbánya. Szabadi is the founder of the Association of Artists of Zugló. Since 2005 she has been a member of the Association of Amateur Artists. In 2005 and 2006 she participated in the work of the Colony of Artists in Törek. She went on a field trip in Austria.
For more than three decades her art has been ensuring her subsistence, and thus, most of her works were bought by collectors. Her paintings are frequently exhibited. The most valued features of her art are honesty, simplicity, at times naturalistic mode of expression and its monumentality. Her works are expressive, and are based on colour contrasts – effects that let her paintings grip the audience. Szabadi’s main topics and themes revolve around the fundamental questions of existence and life, but it is her use of symbolist motifs that render her works unique.

She worked with Xaver Varnus orgonist,  Anna Jókai, and she painted 10 paints for Villon: Danse Macabre.

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Her works in public collections:
Toriano Meeting House, London
Collection of Xaver Varnus orgonist
Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
Local Council of Kőbánya 
Collection of Braun Foundation, Töreki.
Collection of Central European Time Club 
Collection of CET Club 

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Private exhibitions:
1975 • Community Center of Marczibányi Square, Budapest 
1979 • Institute of National Public Health, Budapest (with Weinacht Péter)
1982 • Library and Cultural Center of the Railroaders of Ferencváros, Budapest
1985 • Community Center, Csorvás
1986 • FMK, Budapest • Community Center of Nagykovácsi
1987 • Gallery 11, Budapest
1988 • Matthias Church, Budapest
1989 • Gallery of Erzsébetváros, Budapest • Tégla Gallery, Békéscsaba
1990 • Gallery of Békés, Békés
1995 • Torriano Meeting House, London
1997 • Torriano Meeting House, London • Szabó Ervin Könyvtár, Budapest
1996 • Community Center, Biatorbágy (with Weinacht Péter)
2002 • From mud to the strars, Újpest Gallery, Budapest
2005 • Rákosy Pince Gallery • Bank Center - Szalóky A. Gallery, Budapest.
2006. Exhibitions of Danse Macabre Ballad, Budapest, Sufni Gallery (with organist Varnus Xaver and poet Mezei András)
2006. Pataky Gallery, Budapest
2007. Theatre of Erzsébetliget, Budapest; 
         Vally of Art  Exhibitions of danse macabre ballad

2008. Pataky Gallery, opened by art historian Dr. Gábor Pogány.
August 2008 Symbol Art Gallery,
opened by Dr. Balázs Feledy, art historian
October 2008 Kálmán Imre Museum
March 2009 Kolta Gallery
2009. Dénes Csengey: The cell - memorial and exhibition together with the actor Áron Őze, in memory of the actor Sándor Szakácsi, from the pictures made for the monodrama in the Symbol Art Gallery
January 2010 Újpest Gallery - opened by Balázs Feledy, art writer
July 2010, Budapest, Nyírő Gallery - opened by art historian Ernő P. Szabó

January 31, 2011: Literary evening and exhibition opening at the Symbol Art Gallery with Anna Kókuth Prize-winning writer Jókai. The central theme of the exhibition was courage. For this occasion, the artist commissioned a separate catalog in which she explained her thoughts on courage.

February 16. Csokonai Theater, Debrecen. A traveling exhibition entitled “In Silence Behind Glass”. At this exhibition, he presented his works inspired by the poetry of János Pilinszky for the first time, and at the same time he first worked with László Földes, a “Hobo” Kossuth Prize-winning performer, who undertook to open the exhibition.

March 17: Moldvay Winning Gallery, Sixty. The second “station” of the Pilinszky exhibition was also opened by László Földes “Hobo”. The artist was given the opportunity to present her works in the settlement of Heves County because she had previously been awarded a Silver Diploma at the National Exhibition of Contemporary Ecclesiastical Art of the Hatvan Gallery, and then received a Bronze degree at the Hungarian Landscapes National Landscape Biennale. He praised the pictures: dr. Gábor Pogány is an art historian.

March 18: Exhibition hall of ScanoMed Kft., Debrecen. Áron Őze, the actor and stage director, opened the exhibition with a poem by Attila József entitled “At the Danube” and his thoughts collected for this occasion.

April 21: The third opening of the traveling exhibition "In the Silence Behind the Glass" at the Újpest Gallery. The exhibition was opened by: dr. Professor Ákos Kassai-Farkas.

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2018. Ars Sacra Festival - Ruin Salon - Open studio

Hungarian Painting Day - "We sat in a café" - Bistro Nyúl Café and Gallery Budapest; opened by Áron Őze Jászai Mari Prize-winning actor, theater director

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2019. Ars Sacra Festival - Dunaújváros Theater. Opened by: Áron Őze actor, theater director

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2020. Aranytíz - on the occasion of the Hungarian Painting Day. Opened by: Áron Őze, actor and theater director

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Collective exhibitions
1990 • FMS exhibition, Museum Ernst, Budapest
1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005 • Exhibition of the Association of Fine Artist and Photographers of Kőbánya, Pataky Gallery, Budapest
1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005., 2007.  National Springtime Exhibition in Salgótarján
1998 • Erdős Reneé House, Budapest
1999 • Human, Újpest Gallery • Exhibition of National Contemporary Ecclesiastical Art, Hatvan
2000 • Exhibition of the Association of Fine Artist and Photographers of Kőbánya, Community Center of Sukoró • Agriculture in fine art, Hungarian Agricultural Museum, Budapest
2002 • Exhibition of the Association of Artists of Zuglo, Nyírő Gallery, Budapest • Exhibition of the Association of Fine Artist and Photographers of Kőbánya, Gallery of Ferencváros, Budapest • Biennial Festival of Tableau Painting, Szeged
2003 • Exhibition of the Association of Artists of Zuglo, Rákosy Gallery, Budapest • Exhibition of the Association of Fine Artist and Photographers of Kőbánya, Corvin Gallery, Budapest • Exhibition of Fine Artists of Pest County, Szentendre
2004 • Winter Exhibition, Rákosy Gallery, Budapest
2005 • Springtime Exhibition of Association of Fine Artists of Zuglo, Aulart School • Exhibition of National Contemporary Ecclesiastical Art, Moldvay Gy. Gallery, Hatvan • Faces and fates, National Portraits, Moldvay Gy. Gallery, Hatvan •
Selection from the collection of Colony of Artists of Törek, Kálmán I. Museum, Siófok • Exhibition of Assiciation of Fine Artists of Kőbánya, Wolverhampton School of Art & Design, Wolverhampton (UK) 
2006 • Springtime Exhibition of Association of Fine Artists of Zuglo, Stefánia Palace, Budapest • Exhibition of Assiciation of Fine Artists of Kőbánya, Újpest Gallery, Budapest • On Earth, Water and Sky  Traffic in Fine Arts, Traffic Museum • From clean source - Bartók Béla jubilee, Duna Gallery, Budapest. •  National Exhibition in Debrecen • Biennial Festival of Watercolour Paiting in Eger •  International Exhibition of Szolnok • The legend of Szent Erzsébet, Exhibition of Contemporary Ecclesiastical Art, Moldvay Gy. Gallery, Hatvan • 
Autumntime Exhibition in Vásárhely • Springtime Exhibition in Salgótarján • In memorian Shakespeare, Tatabánya  
2007. Faces and fates, National Portraits, Moldvay Gy. Gallery, Hatvan • Selection from the collection of Colony of Artists of Törek, Symbol Gallery, Budapest • The legend of Szent Erzsébet, Exhibition of Contemporary Ecclesiastical Art, Moldvay Gy. Gallery, Hatvan • In Memoriam Saint Francis of Assisi, Kortárs Gallery, Tatabánya • XXXV. Alföld Exhibition, Munkácsy Mihály Museum, Békéscsaba, the Sinagogue of Orosházi and Dürer-terem in Gyula • Autumntime Exhibition of Vásárhely, Tornyai János Museum and Community Center, Hódmezővásárhely  

 

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