Szilveszter Makó, the Photographer Behind Vogue Philippines’ Olivia Rodrigo Cover, Makes Exhibition Debut With Bauhaus Ballet
Photographed by Szilveszter Makó
For his first exhibition, the Hungarian artist explores his lifelong obsessions in a four-day New York City pop-up.
Szilveszter Makó is the zeitgeist of the moment.
Over the past few years, the Hungarian artist has cultivated a vision that is surreal and otherworldly, with his portraiture and set design existing on the cusp of reality and fantasy. His growing list of subjects includes Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Elle Fanning, Bad Bunny, Michelle Yeoh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rihanna, John Galliano, and Olivia Rodrigo for Vogue Philippines’ fourth anniversary issue, each captured in his faded antique haze and Henri Rousseau-esque backdrops.
Growing up in Lillafüred, in northeastern Hungary, Makó had various creative pursuits during his youth. As a teenager, he experimented with hairdressing, cutting elaborate styles for friends before snapping the results. He went on to study photography in Budapest and Florence before a chance opportunity brought him to Milan more than a decade ago, where he began establishing himself as a freelance photographer.
Makó approaches each scene like a stage director, orchestrating bodies, clothing, painted surfaces, geometric forms, and props together into a single tableau. His subjects might lie on the floor, contort themselves into unusual shapes, or appear flattened against painted backdrops, becoming part of the scenery itself. Rather than simply documenting clothes or people, he creates unspoken narratives where the image speaks louder than words.
Much of this is built by hand from cardboard, fabric, wood, and other DIY materials, with everyday objects transformed into something uncanny. That instinct for making something extraordinary from what is at hand is rooted partly in the resourcefulness of his grandparents’ generation, an influence that continues to shape the tactile, meticulously crafted quality of his images.
Now, Makó is taking that world beyond the frame.
Bauhaus Ballet, presented by Capital One in partnership with The Cultivist, will transform a six-room space at 29 West 23rd Street in New York into an immersive exhibition from September 8 to 12. Rather than simply viewing Makó’s photographs, visitors will be invited into the environments, objects, and ideas that shaped them.
Drawing on childhood memories in Hungary, Hungarian folklore, and the psychological landscape of post-communist Eastern Europe, the exhibition reimagines materials with personal and cultural histories. Bare brick walls, inherited cutlery, and household objects are transformed through Makó’s theatrical eye, creating a universe where scale, perspective, and logic are deliberately unsettled.
Among the works on view are portraits of Gwendoline Christie and Adrien Brody, while Christie also lends her voice to a film featuring the Hungarian ballad Ágnes asszony by poet Arany János. Performances and gatherings will further animate the space throughout the exhibition.
Bauhaus Ballet by Szilveszter Makó will be on view from September 8 to 12, 2026, at 29 West 23rd Street in New York.
Frequently Asked Questions
Szilveszter Makó is a Hungarian photographer known for his theatrical fashion and portrait photography, blending handmade sets, sculptural forms, and dreamlike compositions.
Makó was born in Miskolc and grew up in nearby Lillafüred, in northeastern Hungary.
Szilveszter Makó first picked up a camera as a teenager to photograph the hairstyles he created for friends. He used the money he earned from hairdressing to buy his first camera, eventually going on to study photography in Budapest and Florence.
He studied photography at the University of Applied Arts in Budapest before continuing his studies at the Florence University of the Arts in Italy.
Early in his career in Milan, Makó landed an editorial commission from Prada and photographed backstage at Jil Sander shows across three seasons.