The exhibition project introduces viewers to the works of four artists. The listing of the artists’ names establishes the structure of the display, reflecting its simplicity and the approach inherent in the works themselves.

Each participant possesses a unique visual language and is recognized as an established figure in contemporary art. They share a contemplative view of the world, the pursuit of the essential forms of the surrounding objects and a desire to express the concept of time in their works.

Alexandra Mitlyanskaya’s path led her from traditional genres to contemporary art. Trained in book graphics, she began her career in painting before turning to photography and video art. The exhibition features five of her works, which reveal elements of graphic structures and classical painting, with the artist’s pursuit of clarity and concision.

In the photographs of Valeriy Orlov, simplicity is combined with a meticulous attention to composition, form, and light — a quality that reflects his training as a graphic artist. His series “Courtyards” features fragments of street life, filled with contrasting lines that the artist captures through the lens of his camera.

Vladimir Martynov uses the latest technologies, creating images in the digital space that have no analogues in reality. The exhibition presents works from the series called “Structures”. An architect by training and a professor in the Department of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture at the Novosibirsk State University of Architecture, Design and Arts named after A. D. Kryachkov, Martynov constructs virtual forms that expand our understanding of visual art.

Zakhar Kolovsky employs the method of straight photography, without distortions, staging, or staged narratives. He enhances minimalist images through multiplication, juxtaposition, and precise composition, transforming them into multi-part frieze-like installations. Despite their apparent abstraction, these works are rooted in real fragments and details of the surrounding world.

“For us, artists featured at the exhibition, photography is a way to understand and express our vision of the events unfolding around us. Like other witnesses to the light and shadow play, we each offer our own approach to conveying these impressions. Light, shadow, balance, color, contrast, tone, form, texture, line, and space acquire individual qualities. Perhaps the main thing that unites us is contemplation — a careful observation of the world and a desire to preserve a sense of wonder at the sight of people, objects, and events,"

Valeriy Orlov