Marilyn Szabo
About the artist...
Growing up in the heart of American history – Norfolk, Virginia, Marilyn Szabo began a life long interest in history and photography. She received her Bachelors in History from Virginia Commonwealth University with a minor in Photography. Szabo is a true creative force in Arizona culture and has worked for over twenty-five years as a photographer. Her photographic subjects vary from people to architecture to landscape, and the work has been praised for its depth, craftsmanship and versatility.
Her work can be found in many public and private collections throughout the U.S. as well as receiving the Alligator Juniper’s 2010 National Photography Award and cover. She has extensively exhibited her artwork nationally and internationally, while garnering prestigious awards and grants including five from the arts commission. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Triumph of Our Communities, Black and White, Focus, In/Sights: Self-Portraits by Women edited by Joyce Tenneson Cohen, just to name a few.
In 2014 "At Work in Arizona: the First 100 Years" book was published and funded by Alliance Bank of Arizona, featuring 168 pages including 80 of Szabo’s photographs. This impressive photographic project was a 15-year endeavor created by Szabo, who took on numerous roles including: artist, curator and historian. The exhibition presented a selection of images from the project providing a glimpse into Arizona’s past including images of transportation, mining, and manufacturing to agriculture, retail and the arts.
In 2017 Szabo presented a new art installation “Ligature” at the Walter Art Gallery in Scottsdale, featuring photographs although surreal are figurative, both mysterious and lyrical, offering viewers avisual extravagance and a strange glamour. Szabo’s Life&Death: Portraits were exhibited at the Mesa Arts Center, highlighting s a “landscape of Arizona personalities and international persons” photographed by Szabo over a 25 year period. She is currently working on several books, including historical photography by an Arizona Photographer Jim Gorraiz and Szabo’s Life&Death: Portraits.
