First in Italy, an exhibition of photographs by Russian artist Alexey Titarenko will be hosted at photo gallery SpazioFoto Credito Artigiano. Exhibition opening will be on Wednesday, April 16, 2003 at 6 p.m. at the gallery, in Florence.
Mounted under the supervision of Gabriel Bauret, the exhibition has been organised by SpazioFoto in association with photo agency Grazia Neri, Washington Nailya Alexander Gallery, Paris Camera Obscura Gallery, Luxembourg Centre National de l'Audiovisuel, Recontres de la Photographie d'Arles and Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

Alexey Titarenko currently lives and works in Saint Petersburg. The native town is Titarenko's main subject of interest. The numerous shots he took portray Saint Petersburg at any season, early in the morning, as well as at night whilst seasons change. His pictures exude something which is also to be found in novels written by Dostoevsky and symphonies composed by Shostakovich.

He portrays the Russia of today but also depicts the myth of an eternal Russia. Whether gloomy or bright, the city seems haunted. Bodiless people move in his photographs, as a soft light bathes the city conveying a magical atmosphere.
This sort of 'vaporization' of human bodies is obtained by combining a long exposure with the use of bleaches and toning to create fine pictorial effects.
Alexey Titarenko is the author of a collection of stunning images portraying some sort of eternal time. Darkness closes in upon the city during the long winters. A milky light illuminates the white nights of St Petersburg. A light haze appears around its unreal, phantasmagorical world.

Nevertheless, each photograph has some distinctive features and details that remind us of an historical period or a place. The very essence of Titarenko's art, in fact, lies in the contrast between sharp images and indistinct forms.

On display at the gallery are about forty duotone photographs arranged into four sections: "Dal mattino alla sera, in inverno", "La città delle ombre", "Le notti bianche", "Il tempo incompiuto".

Grazia Neri is Alexey Titarenko 's sole agent in Italy. The exhibition is being co-ordinated by Elena Ceratti for Grazia Neri.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES FOR ALEXEY TITARENKO
Alexey Titarenko was born in 1962 in Saint Petersburg, where he lives and works. He graduated in photography from Saint Petersburg School of Culture. He soon joined a group of photographers and artists and became actively involved in the cultural life of the city. He was among the founders of the Photoimage gallery in 1995. In the subsequent years, he was awarded a scholarship from Saint Petersburg Centre for Contemporary Art. He was among the winners of the European Program Mosaïque, a cultural event promoted by Luxembourg Centre Nationale de l'Audiovisuelle.
Photographs by Alexey Titarenko are part of public and private collections from Russia, France, Luxembourg, United States and Switzerland. His works have been exhibited on the occasion of numerous one-man shows and group exhibitions hosted at major art galleries and exhibition venues, among which Oslo National Museum of Contemporary Art (in 1995), the Karlsruhe Art Museum (in 1995), Cambridge M.I.T. Museum, Massachusset (in 1996), the Daytona Beach Southeast Museum of Photography, Florida (in 1997), Paris Mois de la Photo (in 1998), the Russian Museum of St Petersburg (in 1999), Luxembourg Centre National de l'Audiovisuel (in 2000), Toulouse Galerie Municipale du Chateau d'eau (in 2000), Luxembourg Nei Liicht Gallery (in 2000), Arles Rencontres de la photographie (in 2002), Paris Darkroom Gallery (in 2003).
Alexey Titarenko 's agent is at present Washington Nailya Alexander Gallery.