Katya Medvedeva is among the foremost figures of contemporary Russian naive art. The self-taught paintress modestly lives in a tiny village near Ryazan in Central Russia, though she has been welcome to top-notch shows for twenty-five years now, and connoisseurs are hunting for her canvases. Katya's sequin-spangled paintings are enchanting with glowing colors. Ballerinas, in her portrayal, resemble iconic angels.
Sasha Manovtseva, an advertisement photographer, spent a long time behind the Bolshoi scenes to portray exhausting toil, which makes the ballet routine. Paradoxically, her shots reveal a life even more fantastic than the most imaginative and magnificent stage productions. Now, a snapshot shows the graceful backs of corps de ballet girls, now an emotionally mimicking face, now a gorgeous puffed tutu. Sasha offers many close-ups of costume details, all in striking light and shade contrasts-big bags full of beads or dress fastenings, or heaps of ballet shoes. There are panoramas of storerooms chockfull of stage props, and dressing rooms. Every shot would be matchless to advertise the stage world.
The show lasts into March 30.
