1985-90
Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Painting Department

Attila Szűcs is one of the most important painter of his generation. While he generally works within the realms of figurative art and realism, his compositions often convey a surrealistic impression through his characteristically sensitive treatment of light and color. His paintings frequently draw on photographs, images sourced from the Internet, and postcards—some tied to personal memory, others to collective cultural remembrance.

Time and light are central elements of his work. Time is not only the subject of his exploration but also often serves as the organizing principle of his paintings. His work process demands long periods to complete, as they manifest, unfold, and evolve over time; at the same time, he treats time itself almost as a tangible, physical presence. The metaphysical dimensions of light have preoccupied Szűcs since the outset of his career. Beyond its technical function, light operates in his work as a symbolic and epistemological category, mediating between material presence and transcendence. Through these two elements—light and time—Szűcs reflects not only on universal questions of existence and memory but also on the contemporary social and political condition. His paintings convey a heightened social sensitivity, suggesting that the trajectory of the present, if left unaltered, offers little promise of a brighter future. In this respect, Szűcs’s oeuvre may be situated within the broader discourse of contemporary historical painting, as it negotiates issues of temporality, memory, and representation while simultaneously bearing witness to the precariousness of the present.

2025

Infinite Look, Emmanuel W alderdorff Galerie, Münich, Germany
The Legacy of A bsence, JSP Galler y, Prague, Czech Republic

2024

Researching for a Message, Wizard Gallery, Milan, Italy

 

2023

Portraits of the Last Golden Age, Erika Deák Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2022  
Duplicated Dreamer, FL Gallery, Milan, Italy
Blindspot and shadow, ÙjMûhely Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2021
Abundance of Doubt and Wonder, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2020
Transhuman etudes, Bazis Contemporary Art Space, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
The intensities of disappearence, A38 Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2019
Drawings, Pannonhalmi Bencés Gimnázium Gallery, Pannonhalma, Hungary

2018
Inside the Black Box, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Portraits from the beginning of the XXI. century, Federico Luger Gallery, Milan, Italy

2017
Preparing for lightness, Emmanuel Walderdorff Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany
Transients, Ferenczy Museum, Szentendre, Hungary

2016
Waiting for the Unknown, Federico Luger Gallery, Milan, Italy
Specters and experiments, Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary

2015
Vertical Attractions, Kunstklang Galerie, München, Germany

2014
Still Light, Kieselbach Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
BSA, Berlin, Germany

2013
Still Light, Kepes Institute, Eger, Hungary
Planking and Dreaming, (with Magyarósi Éva), balzerARTprojects, Basel, Switzerland

2012
Planking, Erika Deák Galéria, Budapest, Hungary
Planking 2 - drawings, Galéria A38, Budapest, Hungary
Strange Light 2, Hussenot Galéria, Paris (with Alexander Tinei), France

2011
Strange Light, Tajan, Paris (with Alexander Tinei), France
Close to Eclipse, Galerie Emmanuel Walderdorff, Cologne, Germany
The hidden and the reveared, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, USA

2010
Exits, Erika Deák Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Proper hand position, Eger Contemporary art Galéria, Eger, Hungary

2009
Galéria Zuid, Antwerpen, Belgium

2008
Something about light, Emmanuel Walderdorff Galéria, Cologne, Germany

2007
Bubble Memory, WAX Museum, Budapest, Hungary
Paintings, Galerie Zuid, Antwerp, Belgium
Galerie Emmanuel Walderdorff, Cologne, Germany
Bubbleworld, acb Galéria, Budapest, Hungary

2005
Dead Souls, acb Galéria, Budapest, Hungary
Living Souls, Irokéz Galéria, Szombathely, Hungary

2004
New Pictures, Tylers Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands
Local News from Nowhere, Galerie Emmanuel Walderdorff, Cologne, Germany
Drawings from the Little-Big House, Szinnyei Szalon, Budapest, Hungary

2003
Introduction to Losers, Erika Deák Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
New Pictures, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany

2002
Clean-room, Kiscell Museum, Budapest, Hungary

2001
Greengrocery, Fészek Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2000
New Pictures, Erika Deák Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

1999
Painting, Paul Sties Galéria, Kronberg, Germany
And always just Images, Erika Deák Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2025

Exhibition POINT ZERO, KodlContemporary, Prague, Czech Republic
The Seen Person, Emmanuel Walderdorff Gallery, Rumplmayr Sawmill, Neukirchen-Altmünster, Austria
Untold Stories, MODEM, De brecen, Hungary

2024

Suppose You Are Not, Ömer Koç Collection, Arter, Istanbul, Turkey
Mirror Noir, Sternberk Contemporary, Šternberk, Czech Republic
Heterotóp, Pikszis Kultúrpont, Budapest, Hungary
Tempesta, Wizard Gallery, Milan, Italy
Seeing Red, PhillipsX, London, United Kingdom
Preparing for Darkness, Vol. 8, Museum Kampa, Prague, Czech Republic
Csak a kép számít, Vízivárosi Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

 

2023

Becoming. The Force of Existence, HAB, Art Center Budapest, Hungary
Technocool - New tr ends in H ungarian ar t of the Nineties, 1989-2001, Hungarian National Galler y, Budapest, Hungary
Roma Ar te in Nuv ola 2023, Wizar d Gallery, Rome, Italy
Think Big, Emmanuel W alderdorff Galerie, EWG Molsberg, Germany

 

2022

You Know Who, Ömer K oç Collection, A bdülmecid Efendi Mansion, Istanbul, Turkey
PREPARING FOR DARKNESS, VOL.7, Collegium H ungaricum Berlin, Berlin, Germany
SHIFTS - UPD ATED!, Hungarian National Galler y, Budapest, Hungary
SYMBIOSEN, Emmanuel W alderdorff Galerie, Hamburg, Germany
Bukta Imre 70, pop-up show , GODOT Institute of Contempor ary Art, Budapest, Hungary
Dreams, Wizard Gallery, Milan, Italy
MEN (THE MALE BODY IN ROBER T RUNTAK’S COLLECTION), The South Bohemian Gallery, Hluboká nad Vltavou, Czech Republic
Stories We Live With, Q Contempor ary, Budapest, Hungary

2021
Mythos Wald - Faszination und Furcht, Emmanuel Walderdorff Galerie,
Aurachmühle Sägewerk Rumplmayr, Aurachmühl 3, Neukirchen, Austria

2020
JCDecaux, street art, Budapest, Hungary
A remény óvóhelye, Contemporary Art Institute (ICA-D), Dunaújváros, Hungary
TOP10-Magyar-Kortárs, Vaszary Galéria, Balatonfüred, Hungary

2019
Preparing for Darkness, Vol. 3: I’m Not There, Kühlhaus Berlin, Berlin, Germany
The Charmof things, Emmanuel Waldorf Galerie, Sawmill Rumplmayr Neukirchen, Austria
Nikola Tesla – Mind from the future, Tesla Loft, Budapest, Hungary
A man is a man to another man, Alsova Jihoceska Galerie, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
In your trace, Buda Castle, Budapest, Hungary
Floral Centrepiece, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2018
139 x Nothing, but good, Park-Platform for visual arts, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Zonamaco 2018, FL Gallery, Mexico
Art Cologne, Erika Deak Gallery, Cologne, Hungary
Futurum Perfektum, FKSE, Budapest, Hungary
Artefiera 2018, FL Gallery, Bologna, Italy
New horizons in painting II., The unpredictability of ideas, Frissiras Museum, Athen, Greece

2017
Disruptive Imagination, Vitvarneho Umeni V Ostrave Gallery, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Blütezeit, Austrian Cultural Forum, Budapest, Hungary
Artmarket Budapest 2017, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Passion, Galerie im Park, Bremen, Germany

2016
Standing in front of objects, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
The Nude in the XX&XXI Century, S2, London, United Kingdom

2015
Szabad/Idő, ICA-D, Dunaújváros, Hungary
Re-Planning, MODEM, Debrecen, Hungary
Planking project, OFF-Biennale, Budapest, Hungary
Aether, Galerie im park, Bremen, Germany

2014
Psychogram Gallery Oxholm, Copenhagen, Denmark
Free-Hand Drawing Now And Before, Modem Museum, Debrecen, Hungary
Painting Ii.Frissiras Museum, Athens, Greece
Nothing But Good, Platform For Visual Arts, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Turning points, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2013
Twilight, Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic
The World won’t listen, BSA, Horsens, Denmark

2012
Face to Face, Frissiras Museum, Athen, Greece
Budapest Tales, Scheublein Fine Art, Zürich, Switzerland
Nightfall, Modem, Debrecen, Hungary
Poznan Biennal, Poznan, Poland
New Acquisitions, Szt. István Király Museum, Székesfehérvár, Hungary
What is Hungarian?, Budapest Kunsthalle, Hungary
Schatzlager, Emmanuel Walderdorff Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Young European Landscape, CHB, Berlin, Germany
Introspective, Enigma Arts Galéria, Veresegyház, Hungary
Portrait of Power, Prague Biennale 5, Prague, Czech Republic

2011
After the Fall, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, USA
Young European Landscape, CHB, Berlin, Germany
Portrait of Power, Prague Biennale 5, Prague, Czech Republic

2010
Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, New York, USA
I'm Not There, CHB, Berlin, Germany
On Paper, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Paper, Budapest Galéria, Budapest, Hungary
True Romance, Galerie im Park Bremen, Bremen, Germany

2009
Eccentric paths II. Central European Contemporary Art, Lisbon, Portugal
Paper, Irokéz Galéria, Szombathely, Hungary

2008
Future, Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
The new force of painting, Frissiras Museum, Athen, Greece
Voyage Sentimental, Poznan Biennale 2008, Poznan, Poland
Central Europa revisited, Eisenstadt, Austria

2007
made in, made by, Lada project, Berlin, Germany
Observing Mankind, Galerie Zuid, Antwerp, Belgium
Body Language, MODEM, Debrecen, Hungary
Eclectic Affinities among European Artists, Frissiras Museum, Athens, Greece

2006
Ninety-nine Years, MODEM, Debrecen, Hungary
7 Künstler aus Budapest, Rathausgalerie, München, Germany
Resonance, Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary
Lost and Found, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, Germany
You Bet It, Gallery AP4-art, Lugano, Switzerland
Lager, Galerie Emmanuel Walderdorff, Cologne, Germany
Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany

2005
Hungarian View, AP4-ART, Genf, Switzerland
Lager, Galerie Emmanuel Walderdorff, Cologne, Germany

2004
4 from Hungary, Galéria Tanya Rumpff, Haarlem, The Netherlands

2003
Wasser in Attersee, Atterseehalle, Linz, Austria
9x9, Hungarian artists in Leiden, Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Leiden, Germany
Portrait, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

2002
Ungarische Kunst heute, Dormagen, Germany

2001
Mimi doesn’t forget, Trafó Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Ungarische Kunst heute, Kulturabteilung Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany
Vytvarné Centrum Chagall, Ostrava, Czech Republic

1999
Farewell to the 20th Century, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Conversation, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary
Young and Serious, Ernst Museum, Budapest, Hungary
Farewell to the 20th Century, Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

1998
Anthology, Ludwig Musem, Budapest, Hungary
There is a Woman, Erika Deak Gallery, Budapest, Hungary

1997
Oil on canvas, Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
The Hungarian Asphalt Award Winners Show, Ludwig Museum, Budapest, Hungary 

1996
The Butterfly Effect, Kunsthalle, Budapest, Hungary
Least, Ernst Museum, Budapest, Hungary

1994
More than Ten, Ludwig Múzeum, Budapest, Hungary

1992
Revisions: Experimental Art Foundation, Adelaide, Australia
Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, Australia 

Munkácsy-prize, 2005
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Internationales Atelierprogram, 2003–2004, 2003
Institute für den Dunauraum und Mitteleuropa, scolarship, 1998
Hungarian Academy, Rome Scolarship, 1998
Hungarian Aszfalt díj - first place, 1997
Smohay-prize, 1996
Barcsay-prize, 1996

Neue Galerie am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria
Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
Ludwig Museum, Budapest
ICA-D, Institute of Contemporary Art, Dunaújváros
Szent István Király Museum, Székesfehérvár
Hypo Bank, Budapest
Raiffeisen Bank, Budapest
Frissiras Museum, Athen
Gallery of Szombathely, Szombathely
Regional Collection, Miskolc
Museum of Literature Petőfi, Budapest
European Parliament, Brussel, Belgium
Rippl-Rónai Museum, Kaposvár