The exhibition “SVESHNIKOV” is dedicated to artist Sergey Sveshnikov (1959–2012) — a key figure in the history of St. Petersburg photography — and continues the «Open Collection» series, which highlights the work of influential artists.

More than 200 works are presented in the ROSPHOTO galleries. Among them are portraits of Timur Novikov and Sergey Kuryokhin, the bands «Televisor» and «Nol», original hand-printed works by the author, as well as modern prints made from Sveshnikov’s negatives, many of which are shown to the public for the first time.

Visitors will see works from the series “Entropy” — monochrome photographs hand-colored by the artist; sheets from the project “Identification”, in which Sveshnikov captured various artistic communities and music groups; the “Mon Repos” project shot on infrared film; and portraits created using the historical bromoil technique.

In addition, in the Yard Building halls documentary and artistic photographs from the 1980s–2000s will be shown, depicting the life of the Leningrad underground, as well as works produced for record sleeves and magazine covers.

All the photographs presented in the exhibition are part of the ROSPHOTO collection.

We express our gratitude for the assistance provided in preparing the exhibition to artist Oleg Kotelnikov and photographer Dmitry Provotorov.

The exhibition design was created with the artist Oleg Kotelnikov.

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Sergey Sveshnikov dedicated his entire life to art.

He developed a serious interest in photography in the early 1980s. At the turn of the 1970s–1980s, he worked as a sound engineer at the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography (LGITMiK), participated in recording vinyl albums by Sergey Kuryokhin and Oleg Butman, and also practiced painting.

A turning point in Sveshnikov’s career came with his discovery of the work of Andy Warhol. Deeply impressed by Warhol’s photographic art, Sergey took up a camera and began shooting.

Another major influence on Sveshnikov’s development as a photographer was his friendship with Boris Smelov, whose work became a true revelation for him.

In 1981, Sveshnikov became a student of Oleg Bakharev, one of the leading Leningrad photographers of the 1970s. Sergey studied under him for two years and, starting in 1983, worked independently as a photographer at the Leningrad Studio of Popular Science Films, contributing to more than twenty documentary productions.

From 2007 to 2011, Sveshnikov had been collaborating with ROSPHOTO, conducting master classes on hand-printing techniques and developing different artistic projects.

Sergey Sveshnikov held fifteen solo exhibitions and participated in more than fifty group exhibitions in Russia and abroad. His works are part of the collections of the Zverev Center for Contemporary Art (Moscow), as well as museums and private collections in Germany, Spain, France, and Scotland.