Shtager Gallery have said they will participate in the 2021 edition of Photo London.

Shtager Gallery premiers new work by Russian artist Gregori Maiofis alongside photographs by Belarus born Valery Katsuba, epochal prints by the late Georgian photographer Sandro Mamasakhlisi and new work by Japanese artist Yusuke Akamatsu. The artists share a fascination with pushing the boundaries on depictions of the human condition.

Valery Katsuba presents a body of work inspired by a photograph of a life-drawing class at the St Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts by pioneering photojournalist Karl Bulla. Evoking the past glory of Soviet gymnastics, yet unmistakeably contemporary, the scenes in the appropriately named 100 Years On enter a direct dialogue with Sandro Mamasakhlisi’s iconic historical photographs.

In his series Mixed Reality Gregori Maiofis combines a utopian view of the world with the vintage appeal of traditional bromoil printmaking. By contrast Yusuke Akamatsu digitally captures and manipulates cityscapes into intriguing collages that appear at once archaic and futuristic, especially if viewed in context of a global pandemic.

Discourse across cultures and disciplines is at the core of Shtager Gallery. The London gallery was established in 2016 with the aim to introduce contemporary Russian artists to the British and wider public. In just five years, its founder Marina Shtager has cultivated a standout portfolio of cutting-edge Eastern European and international artists.

9-12 September 2021

Booth G2, Courtyard