Alexander Gronsky (Александр Гронский, born 1980) is a Russian landscape photographer. His photographs of the Russian landscape have been shown in solo exhibitions, received awards, and were published in the book ''Pastoral'' (2013). He is based in Riga, Latvia.

Life and work

Gronsky was born in

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. He became an assistant to a commercial photographer at age 17.Alexander Gronsky
", Calvert 22 Gallery. In 1998, aged 18, he left Estonia.Pastoral: Moscow Suburbs
,

LensCulture ''LensCulture'' is a photography network and online magazine about contemporary photography in art, media, politics, commerce and popular cultures worldwide. It is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. ''LensCulture'' sponsors international photograph ...

. Between 1999 and 2008 he worked as a

press photographer Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...

for Russian and international media, covering Russia and the former USSR. He joined the Photographer.ru agency in 2003 and in 2006 moved to Russia. He works commercially for advertising agencies, corporations and humanitarian organisations. Since 2008 Gronsky has been oriented more on personal projects focusing on how geography influences the emotions and behaviour of its inhabitants, particularly those residing in the Russian landscape: ''Less Than One'' (2006-2009), a portrait of Russia's outermost regions, areas with a population density of less than one person per square kilometer; ''Endless Night'' (2007-2009),

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

, the largest city within the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

, where the harsh winter is exacerbated by two months of night-time; ''The Edge'' (2008-2010), the same outskirts of Moscow as ''Pastoral'' only in winter; ''Mountains and Waters'' (2011), a study of China in which the mist and cloud that pervade the photos allude to traditional Chinese painting but the subject matter is contemporary: new housing, infrastructure and construction, in

diptych A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a ...

s; ''Pastoral'' (2008-2012), explores the suburbs between Moscow and the countryside that surrounds it, evoking man's encounter with nature – picnickers eat beside heavy industry, sunbathers lie next to construction sites, and people stroll past piles of urban detritus; and ''Norilsk'' (2013). Gronsky's book ''Pastoral'' was published in 2013. As

Mikhail Iampolski Mikhail Beneaminovich Iampolski () is a full professor of comparative literature and Russian and Slavic studies at New York University. The critic

Sean O'Hagan Sean O'Hagan (born 1959) is an Irish singer and songwriter who leads the avant-pop band the High Llamas, which he founded in 1992. He is also known for being one half of the songwriting duo (with Cathal Coughlan) in Microdisney and for his wor ...

, reviewing ''Pastoral'' in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', said "It is essentially, a book about how people use – and abuse – the precious green spaces available to them." Gronsky says he spent two years familiarising himself with all the suburbs of Moscow and a further two years photographing those he considered interesting. Rather than use a large format camera with a tripod as is typical for this style of photography, he kept his equipment to a minimum, using just a portable

Mamiya 7 The Mamiya 7 is a medium-format rangefinder system camera manufactured by Mamiya. It was introduced in 1995 and discontinued in 2014. Features The Mamiya 7 has a coupled viewfinder window which displays frame lines appropriate to the lens mounted, ...

camera.2012, Daily Life , 3rd prize stories , Alexander Gronsky
",

World Press Photo World Press Photo Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1955, the organization holds the annual World Press Photo Contest for press photography. Since 2011, World Press Photo has orga ...

. This portability meant he did not look like a photographer, and gave him greater agility whilst composing to react to peoples' movements. Genevieve Fussell, writing in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', said the work included "measured compositions and a deft use of color". O'Hagan also said "In photography, the edgeland has also become a prevailing subject in recent years, ... If this is much travelled-territory, Gronsky nevertheless makes it his own." Alexander Strecker, writing in ''

'', said "Gronsky is a landscape photographer at heart. His skillful use of perspective and talent for composition lead the observer’s eye deeply into the landscape, generating a sense of astonishment for every place portrayed in photo. But simple astonishment deepens into something more complex as we take in the layered images".

Publications

*''Contact Sheet 166: Alexander Gronsky.'' Syracuse, NY:

Light Work Light Work is a photography center in Syracuse, New York. The artist-run nonprofit supports photographers through a community-access digital lab facility, residencies, exhibitions, and publications. History The organization is housed at Sy ...

, 2012. . *''Pastoral / Moscow Suburbs.'' Rome: Contrasto, 2013. .

Mikhail Iampolski Mikhail Beneaminovich Iampolski () is a full professor of comparative literature and Russian and Slavic studies at New York University.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

*2011: ''Mountains & Waters,'' Photo Levallois festival, Levallois, France; Polka Galerie, Paris, 2012. *2012: ''Pastoral,''

, Syracuse, NY; The Wapping Project, London, 14 April – 12 June 2015.

Exhibitions with others

*2009: ''Minus Ideology,'' Art+Art Gallery, Moscow. *2009: ''InsideOutside,'' FotoWeekDC Festival, Washington, DC. *2010: ''Eastside Story,'' Polka Gallery, Paris. *2011: SI Fest Photography Festival, Savignano sul Rubicone, Italy. *2011: ''Territories of Desire'', Backlight Photo Festival, Tampere Art Museum, Tampere, Finland. *2011: ''Crossroads: Contemporary Russian Photography'',

Australian Centre for Photography The Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) was a not-for-profit photography gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia that was established in 1973 and which also provided part-time courses and community programs. One of the longest running c ...

, Sydney.

Awards

*2003: Participant,

Joop Swart Masterclass, Amsterdam. *2004: Highly commended, Ian Parry Scholarship, UK. *2008: Finalist,

Kandinsky Prize The Kandinsky Prize, named after Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky is an award sponsored by the Deutsche Bank AG and the Art Chronika Culture Foundation. It was organized in hopes of developing Russian contemporary art, and to reinforce the stat ...

, Moscow. *2009: 1st prize, Linhof Young Photographer Award 09. *2009: Winner, 2009 Aperture Portfolio Prize,

Aperture Foundation Aperture Foundation is a nonprofit arts institution, founded in 1952 by Ansel Adams, Minor White, Barbara Morgan (photographer), Barbara Morgan, Dorothea Lange, Nancy Newhall, Beaumont Newhall, Ernest Louie, Melton Ferris, and Dody Warren. Their ...

, for ''The Edge''. *2009: Top 50, Critical Mass, Photo Lucida. *2010: Grand Prix, Silver Camera,

Moscow House of Photography The Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow (MAMM; , Москва) is a Russian state museum dedicated to the presentation and development of contemporary art related to new multimedia technologies. The museum was opened in October 2010 on the grounds of ...

, Moscow. *2010: Winner, Foam Paul Huf Award,

Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam Foam or Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam is a photography museum located on Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The museum has four different exhibitions at any given time in which different photographic genres are shown, such as documentary p ...

, for ''The Edge''. *2011: Winner, Levallois – Epson 2011 Photography Prize, for ''Mountains and Waters''.

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

10000 grant and exhibition in the Photo Levallois festival.Award
", Levallois. *2012: ''Pastoral,'' 3rd place, Daily Life, Stories, World Press Photo Awards 2012.

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gronsky, Alexander 1980 births Living people Russian photographers Artists from Tallinn Landscape photographers