Szipál 101 – Memorial Year Paying Tribute to Hollywood’s Iconic Photographer

With the title Szipál 101 – Light-Life-Heritage, a memorial year has been launched to mark the 101st anniversary of the birth of Martin Szipál (born Márton Szipál), Hollywood celebrity photographer. An exhibition of the iconic artist’s oeuvre will open at the MODEM in Debrecen on June 14, the organizers revealed.

The first venue of the commemorative year is no coincidence, as Szipál spent his childhood in Debrecen (northeastern Hungary), from where he embarked on the journey that took him to Sunset Boulevard, the statement said.

The organizers recalled that Márton Szipál emigrated to the United States in 1956 (year of the Hungarian Revolution). Soon after, he opened an atelier on Los Angeles’s most fashionable avenue.

The characterful Hungarian photographer became the center of social life and his house was frequented by the cream of the international art world.

He became a well-known and sought-after photographer, Martin, The King.

Szipál captured celebrities such as John Wayne, Tommy Lee Jones, Leslie Nielsen, Tracy Nelson, Charlene Tilton, Priscilla Presley, and Zsa Zsa Gábor in his studio. He returned to Budapest in 1997, and after then he worked with local celebrities such as Ilona Medveczky, Claudia Liptai, and Magdi Bódi. The photographer passed away in 2016, at the age of 92.

His works will be shown for the first time in Debrecen, at the MODEM Center for Modern and Contemporary Arts. Between June 14 and October 5, the first stage of the memorial year will showcase around 90 works by the photographer, focusing on his oeuvre, his uniquely strong personality, and his family history.

“It is a great pleasure to pay tribute to one of the world’s iconic photographers with a spectacular exhibition.

The exhibition will also include original photographs by Szipál, treasured pieces of his legacy, being presented to the public in such a comprehensive format for the first time. Szipál has been gone for nine years, but his photographs are immortal.

We are proud to present this unique collection for the first time in Debrecen,” the press release quotes Katalin Vizi, Managing Director of MODEM.

During the memorial year, part of the collection will also be on display at the Füred Art Week in Balatonfüred (northern shore of Lake Balaton) from July 18-20, followed by the BCT Budapest Contemporary exhibition and fair between September 25-28.

Via MTI, Featured image: Facebook/MODEM