Galleri Image is pleased to present a new exhibition:

Lucia Ganieva (Holland/Rusland)

“ Timeless Stories”

23 April - 18 May, 2010

Inside a beautiful old house among flowers and scrub in the middle of St. Petersburg the Russian photographer Lucia Ganieva has made portraits of 25 people. In this splendid building, around 80 elderly lodgers enjoy their declining years after a long life associated with the theatre. Ganieva's images present a wide range of male and female pensioners portrayed in an environment that points to their previous glory and fame.

Ballet dancers, actors and artists are some of the figures in Ganieva's intense photographs. In spectacular surroundings the persons stand proud and invulnerable. There are the portraits themselves with their human subjects; but the camera also captures the special objects and attributes of the sitters gathered through a lifetime, such as letters, drawings, photographs, diplomas and paintings.

This series of images, consisting of 22 works that combine different people with their personal settings, is only part of the new exhibition "Timeless Stories". Other images present a variety of Russian village families, portrayed almost solemnly sitting on old motorbikes in front of their homes. Ganieva depicts the individual in a dialogue with the person's own room. These portraits reflect, too, meetings between the individual and the past, the "human" and the "natural"; their visual strength lies in the piquant contrasts they display and in their unpretentious observation.

Ganieva's pictures reflect a humanistic approach in the portrayal of the person: regardless of their background, all her sitters pose proudly and are treated with respect by the photographer. Drawing on empathy, compassion and a curious eye, Ganieva makes a tribute to each person and her story. And since Ganieva's heart is still beating for her native country, the majority of her works are Russia-made - they seek to portray the Russian people, their culture and history. They are therefore endowed with a temporal dimension, corresponding to the tragic history of the nation.

Lucia Ganieva was born in the old Soviet Union in 1967. Over the last years she has been domiciled in Holland. Ganieva completed her studies at the Photo Academy in Amsterdam and has received several awards during her career. Her work has been exhibited in Holland, France, Finland, USA and of course in Russia. "Timeless Stories" at Galleri Image is her first exhibition in Denmark.

A catalogue has been published to accompany the exhibition.

Welcome to the opening of the exhibition on Friday April 23, 2010, from 16.00-18.00
Art historian Irina Tchmyreva will open the exhibition in the artist's presence.

The exhibition is generously supported by Kulturudviklingspuljen, Aarhus Municipality and the Danish Arts Council.

MINISEMINAR ABOUT PORTRAITS Saturday April 24 at 14.00
On Saturday April 24, Lucia Ganieva will give an artist talk. In the same seminar curator and Ph.D. Irina Tchmyreva (Moscow) will give a lecture on portrait photography.

Everybody is warmly welcome.

Galleri Image
Vestergade 29
8000 Århus C
tlf: 86202429
info@galleriimage.dk
www.galleriimage.dk