State Museum and Exhibition Centre for Photography ROSPHOTO

Ministry for Culture of the Russian Federation

Vadim Egorovskij. Photography 1961–2007

30.04. – 29.06.2014

Opening: April 29, 2014, 6 p.m.

Front Building Exhibition Hall, 3rd floor

After the exhibition opening at 7 p.m. artist talk with Vadim Egorovskij will start in ROSPHOTO's conference hall.

The name of the prominent Saint Petersburg-based photographer Vadim Egorovskij became known to the wide public in the early 1990s. By that time Egorovskij has already established himself as a successful professional photographer. He made his first steps as an amateur while studying in high school; in 1962 he took classes in photojournalism and in 1967 he became a member of the legendary Leningrad-based photo club “VDK.” Later Egorovskij was engaged in making documentary films at “Lennauchfilm” studio, collaborated with various periodicals and worked as a photographer for the Committee for Preservation of Monuments.

The exhibition comprises the photographs taken by Vadim Egorovskij from 1961 to 2007. The visitors to the event will be able to see the original photos from ROSPHOTO’s collection as well as modern digital prints.

Egorovskij’s works are entirely dedicated to Saint Petersburg and are completely Saint Petersburg-oriented revealing the beauty both of the grand facade of the city and of its hidden and less attractive “backside.” The city’s mysterious beauty has won the hearts of the Petersburg photographers since long ago, and the oeuvre of Vadim Egorovskij is not an exception. His works are full of unique charm, which reflects the artist’s contemplation on the destiny of the “eternal city”. It is the city, on the face of which its residents can leave only an evanescent imprint. It is the city, behind the views and landmarks of which one can trace the multidimensional representation created by Dostoyevskiy, Blok and Gogol, and which continues to excite the photographers. However, not only the subjects of Egorovskij’s works make these pictures sight-worthy for the museum of photography. A retrospective study of the oeuvre of Egorovskij, who devoted over fifty years to photography, raises a question of what mark the artist leaves in the national history and culture and what important information the artist’s archive contains. The display explores Egorovskij’s career as a photographer, showing all stages of his evolution from apprenticeship to mastery.

The retrospective exhibition not only demonstrates the changes of the artist’s personal aesthetic and world outlook, but also mirrors the transformation of social, political and cultural systems that has been taking place in Russia during the last fifty years. Egorovskij’s oeuvre can be easily categorized into several time periods. In the 1960s-70s Egorovskij focused on making photographic studies, capturing Leningrad’s unique atmosphere and paid much attention to the city’s sights that no longer exist. In the 1980s he created numerous portraits of the representatives of Soviet intelligentsia, the renowned writers, composers, artists and sportsmen. In the early 1990s Egorovskij in his delicate Egorovskij naged to convey the general atmosphere of dismay and disturbance, anticipation of changes and reconsideration of history. From the mid 1990s Egorovskij has been photographing and documenting the city’s architectural landmarks. He has managed to strike the right balance between a document and an artwork, rendering the fragile beauty of an architectural monument and later layers introduced by the flow of time. The works by Egorovskij are characterized by their wholeness, determined by the artist’s world view. Egorovskij is known for his ability to find and notice beauty in quite ordinary and simple things and subjects. When looking at the portraits of the Leningrad intelligentsia members, one can also see the ‘face,’ the general image of the epoch, revealed through the numerous minor features, seemingly insignificant but typical for the age – interior or outfit details, gesture or pose of a model. The photographer shows a sincere interest towards his characters, be it a person, architectural object or a city landscape. Egorovskij’s style and manner of photographing makes the viewers go into lyrical contemplation together with the photographer. His works are full of gentle love for that he thinks important in photography.