Alexander Chekmenev

Alexander Chekmenev is one of Ukraine's most influential photographic artists. His photographic portraits have been shown in exhibitions in the USA, France, England, Belgium, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland and Germany and are represented in the art collections of the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the Museum Ludwig in Cologne.
The photographic memories show portraits of people who go about their daily lives alone and in groups, in urban and rural areas.
On display are original photographs from the series "Donbass", "Passport", "Black & White Luhansk", "Faces of War" and "EASTER", which were taken after 1994. They show portraits whose aesthetics are influenced by studio photography. The person is at the centre of the picture and the background appears like a canvas, reminiscent of a stage set. In his iconic portrait photographs, Chekmenev bathes the faces in a soft light. The surroundings temporarily sink into diffuse shadows. For Chekmenev, these photographs bear witness to realities, events and people that would be forgotten without these images.
Chekmenev was born in 1969 in the city of Luhansk in the Donets Basin. He began working in a photo studio there at the end of the 1980s. Along the way, he photographed everyday life in the streets of Luhansk. He took portraits of the people outside the photo studio, whose lives were characterised by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the economic crisis in the 1990s.
In the black and white photographs of the "Donbass" series, Chekmenev directly and vividly shows the work in the coal mines and the everyday life of the families living there. The portrait series "Passport" uses colour photographs to tell the story of the introduction of the Ukrainian passport and the realities of life for the people concerned.
Chekmenev has lived and worked in Kyiv as a photo artist, portraitist and photojournalist since 1997 and was awarded the "Photographer of the Year of Ukraine 2013" prize. His photographs have appeared in internationally renowned magazines and newspapers such as the New York Times, TIME Magazine, The Guardian and Vice Magazine.
Alexander Chekmenev has published his work thematically organised by series in photo books with the series titles DONBASS, 2011; PASSPORT, 2017; LILIES, 2020, PHARMAKON, 2021, BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS, 2008.
The exhibition was created in collaboration with Alexander Chekmenev and MOKSOP, the Museum of Kharkiv School of Photography, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
A varied accompanying programme for everyone complements the exhibition.

Last edited on 29.08.2024