For more than thirty years, Boris Smelov’s work has been seen as a hallmark of nonconformist photography in Leningrad. During the last decade, his photographs have again drawn the attention of both the public and professionals. The exhibition presents a small part of the extensive collection of works by Boris Smelov held in the State Museum and Exhibition Center ROSPHOTO in St. Petersburg.

Born in 1951, Boris Smelov first got passionately involved in photography at a children’s studio at the age of 10. At the age of 17, he became a member of the first photography club in Leningrad and the USSR, where he realized the potential of photography as a way of creative learning about the world. In 1973, he first published his photographs in the Moscow magazine “Journalist.” They came out with a note about his obsession with photography. The publication attracted attention to Smelov’s name and got him a reputation of a talented young author with a recognizable ‘minor key’ style.

In 1974, Smelov took part in an independent photography exhibition “Under the Parachute,” that came under the eye of the state authorities. In 1976, Smelov’s show at the photo club angered censors who immediately closed the exhibition and banned the photographer’s official exhibition activities. Despite this, in 1979, his works were published in the leading photographic magazine of the USSR, “Soviet Photo.”

With the beginning of Perestroika, the work of Boris Smelov became in demand. Participation in numerous exhibitions both in Russian and abroad brought him well-deserved fame.

The life of Boris Smelov tragically ended in 1998. Eleven years later, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

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Exhibited at Art Market Budapest 

Venue: Millenáris cultural and convention center, Kis Rókus u. 16