About

Artist Statment

Alena perceives the world as a corresponding living organism, subtly feeling the invisible between all creatures, events, the past and what has not happened yet. The themes of the illusiveness of what is happening, its multilayeredness and cyclicality are the reference point of her artistic practice.

Exploring the forms and structure of the interaction between internal and outer, Alena makes an attempt to show and streamline their relationship visually. Absurdity and the game are the main methods she uses for translation from the cosmic (invisible) to the human (manifested) in an attempt to find answers to the question «How to remember the ordinary day magic, being absorbed in routine and everyday life.

CV

Education:

2012MFA in Photogarphy, Europian Institute of Design, IED Madrid, Spain

Solo Exhibitions:

2021Hidden Motherhood, PhEST, International Photography and Art Festival, Monopoli, Italy
2020Puree with a taste of Triangles, Fotografika Gallery, Saint-Petersburg, Russia (online tour)
2018Puree with a taste of Triangles, Cortona on the Move Photofestival, Cortona, Italy
2012Cornflower Tea and Concealing Chocolate, Aarhus Center for Contemporary Art, Aarhus, Denmark

Selected group exhibitions:

2023“Puree with a taste of Triangles”, Photo Gallery in the Graz town hall, Austria
2021“Young Portfolio Acquisitions”, Kyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Kyosato, Japan
2020Hidden Mothehood, Singapore International Photography Festival (5 November – 30 January 2020)
2018Gallery 21 / Triennal of Photography, Hamburg, Germany
Puree with a taste of Triangles, Month of Photography Los Angeles Group Show, USA
2017The City of Brides, Photographing the Female, The Willow School, New Jersey, USA
The City of Brides, Kolga Tbilisi PhotoFestival, Tbilisi, Georgia
The City of Brides, Lumiere Brothers Gallery, Moscow, Russia
The City of Brides, FOCUS PhotoFestival «Photographing the Female» exhibition, Mumbai, India
Kyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Kyosato, Japan
Puree with a taste of Triangles, European Center of Arts, Hellerau Photography Awards Exhibition, Dresden, Germany
2016The City of Brides, Suwon PASA Festival, South Korea
The City of Brides, Metenkov’s House Museum of Photography, Ekaterinburg, Russia
Kyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Kyosato, Japan
The City of Brides, European Center of Arts, Hellerau Photography Awards Exhibition, Dresden, Germany
2015Puree with a taste of Triangles, Encontros da Imagem Photo Festival «Seeing is Believing», Braga, Portugal
The City of Brides, «She Loves me, She Loves me Not», Centre of Photography, Clermont-Ferrand, France
2014The City of Brides, Month of Photography in Norilsk, Russia
The City of Brides, Pingyao Photography Festival, China
2013The City of Brides, Encontros da Imagem Photo festival, Braga, Portugal
Cornflower Tea and Concealing Chocolate, Meyrin Cultural Center, Geneva, Switzerland
2012The City of Brides, PhotoVisa Festival, Krasnodar, Russia
Cornflower Tea and Concealing Chocolate, Anzenberger Gallery, Vienna, Austria
Copenhagen Photo Festival, Denmark
Coexist gallery, Southend-on-sea, UK
Cornflower Tea and Concealing Chocolate, Backlight 2011 photo festival, Tampere Art Museum, Tampere, Finland
Getty Images Gallery, London, England
Phodar Biennial, Pleven, Bulgaria
ArteLaguna, Nappe area of the Arsenale, Venice, Italy
The A.D Gallery, «Inner & outer landscape», USA
2010Cornflower Tea and Concealing Chocolate, «Young Russian Photography 2010 2/2. Time» Fotodepartament, Saint-Petersburg, Russia
Gallery «KINO», Moscow, Russia
Gallery «NIU», Barcelona, Spain
Cornflower Tea and Concealing Chocolate, Tashkentalle-2010, Fitfth International Tashkent Exhibition Photo Biennial Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Gallery «Captains of Industry», Melbourn, Australia
Gallery «Charnwood Arts», Lestershir, England

Grants and scholarships:

2020Zeiss Fotography Awards Finalist
2014Lucie Foundation Scholarship Finalist
2013Lens Culture Student Photography Award Finalist
2012PhotoVisa Festival Finalist, Krasnodar, Russia
Honorable Mention of Emergentes DST 2012, Portugal
Luceo Student Project Award winner, USA
Nominated on Prix Pictet Award
2011Finalist of ArteLaguna Prize, Venice, Italy
Winner of «Inner & outer Landscape»
International Juried Exhibition, North Caroline, USA
Winner of IED Master of Fine Art Photography Scholarship, Madrid, Spain

Books:

2014 Go there I don’t know where, Bring that I don’t know what, Selfpublished handmade book, edition of 25

2013 The City of Brides, Selfpublished Handmade book, edition of 150

Collections:

Kyosato Museum of Photographic Arts, Kyosato, Japan

Meyrin Cultural Center, Geneva, Switzerland

Ptivate collections

Publications:

Forbes Russia, Marie Claire France, GUP magazine, Photonews, LensCulture, L’Oeil de la Photographie, Musee Magazine, Mulieris magazine, Life magazine China, EEP Berlin, NIDO, Annabelle, Blink magazine, Zoom

Texts / Interviews

Interview by Jing Zhao, Musee magazine, 2019 [EN]
Interview by Maya Hristova «Listen to the Space», EEP Berlin 2019 [EN]
Interview by Marika Krystman, Ladnebebe.pl 2019 [PL]
Text by Helena Falabino, Escaping death: on ritual and photography, GUP magazine, 2017 [EN]
Interview by Olga Osipova, Bird in Flight, 2015 [EN] [RU]