Michel SZULC-KRZYZANOWSKI

Born in Oosterhout in 1949, the Dutch photographer Michel Szulc-Krzyzanowski studied at the St. Joost Academy in Breda.

In 1970 he graduated in photography and free graphic art at the Koninklijke Akademie voor Kunst en Vormgeving in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. After graduation he started working independently and exclusively on his own photography. He produced both ‘conceptual' photographs, which are regularly exhibited in museums and galleries, and documentary images for books and magazines.

In 1971 he exhibited for the first time his photo sequences, in the Noord-Brabants Museum in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, and the following year at the Camden Arts Centre in London, UK. This was the first international exhibition of the series. This conceptual work in black and white, based on awareness, was a great success. It is about how reality is
possibly related to ourselves, and how to make different and surprising interpretations of reality. Making the “Sequences” was a solitary activity : the artist voluntarily isolated himself for several weeks in a desert landscape in order to leave room for meditation. These were special conditions, necessary for a creation free of all visual conventions.

In order to avoid epigonism he stopped making sequences in 1985 and in 1995 he started to work again on his former sequences-location in Mexico. A new body of work was created called the VISTA-series : monumental color images. A photo-book of this work was published called “VISTA”.
His autonmous-conceptual photography : sequences, VISTA pictures and the PS-series have been frequently exhibited in institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which also acquired his work for their collections. Four catalogues were published.

In addition to his personal work, he has carried out several documentary projects in developing countries, particularly in Africa. In «Gewoon Afrika» (Ordinary Africa), the artist describes the daily life of the inhabitants of a village in Zimbabwe over a period of three months. This won him the Dutch Silver Camera Award three times. His photography is used by several humanitarian organisations such as NOVIB, HIVOS, UNAIDS, Artsen zonder Grenzen for their awareness campaigns.

In 2000 he moved to Cadaqués, Spain, where he worked on his series Punta Prima in the Cabo de Creus Natural Park.

In 2005 he left Cadaques to lead a nomadic lifestyle around the world. From 2018 onwards, still living worldwide as a nomad, Michel Szulc-Krzyzanowski has focused on making sequences that are presented in a three dimensional way.

This new series will be presented for the first time during the monographic exhibition at the galerie baudoin lebon, from 30 June to 21 July. This exhibition is dedicated to Jean-Claude Lemagny, general curator of the Cabinet des Estampes of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in the contemporary photography section, creator of the photography gallery at la
Bibliothèque nationale de France, photography historian, and author of VISTA's preface, published in 1998.