Today at the State Hermitage Museum in the halls of the General Staff of the project «The Hermitage 20/21» Exhibition «Boris Smelov. Retrospective », organized by the State Hermitage Museum and Gallery pARTnerproject, Moscow, with the participation of the Fund, Boris Smelova. The exhibition presents over 90 works (still lifes, portraits, urban landscapes) from the collection of Moscow pARTnerproject galleries and private collections.

Photographer Boris Smelov (1951-1998) during his lifetime became a legend of St. Petersburg's photos, a live classic, is now causing the adoration of all who have somehow been connected with the art «svetopisi». Critics and professional photographers Smelova Boris unanimously recognized as one of the best European masters of photography. His image of St. Petersburg - is not just quality shots, but certainly very strong statement, which was done about it at the end of the last century, saying, in its value is Brodsky's poetry. His «Apollo» of a series of photographs of sculptures Summer Garden, a proud ancient god marble profile, with flowing on it drops of rain and polzuschim spiders, frequently reproduced, became the symbol of St. Petersburg culture end of the twentieth century, many far-reaching and, speaking of St. Petersburg - Petrograd -- Leningrad - St. Petersburg more than the most extensive collections of scientific conferences.

Art of Boris Smelova - valuable and striking phenomenon of St. Petersburg's Culture 1970-90-ies, associated with St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg and St. Petersburg on some, but it deprived the limited regional studies. His work is comparable with the highest samples of the world photos - with the works of Cartier-Bresson, and Dean Curtis.

Smelov - artist, standing on the brink of the century, native artist, but is at the level of the best achievements in international photography showing us about the new art, art photography, from a cultural tradition, in the first place - to the cultural tradition of Saint-Petersburg , international city in its essence. Random moments from Smelova weave in an important message, in the whole text of the city, its unique expression, perhaps, a more coherent and meaningful than his continued недвижные monuments. In these moments gravity experiences a miracle out of the flow of time is unmistakable aroma of Art Boris Smelova - what he called «intuitive photo». Intuition, however, is always accompanied by his litmus and accurate calculation of the intellect.

Boris Smelov not real photographs specificity of Leningrad, and even be somewhat superficial to say that in his pictures, he tried to catch the ghost of St. Petersburg. Its not just the city of St. Petersburg, but the City with a capital letter. There is something rodnyaschee with the image of the city another great photographer - beginning of XX century Parisian Eugène Atzhe to which Smelov was very close. In the photographs of Boris Smelova an unexpected angle and a friend suddenly gives new meaning to banal - the city ceases to be a frozen text. He comes to the dialogue with the audience, said something new, unexpected, whether it is a magical light emanating from inside St. Isaac's Cathedral, srifmovanny of radiant single window in the wall, a dark stain on the towering snow-covered roofs, or tired silhouettes of random passengers on a panorama of the Neva, seen through the window evening tram.

Name Smelova well known photographers, collectors, critics and historians of photography. Any more or less Petersburg photographer today has escaped his influence. It is generally recognized fact. He showed a lot at various exhibitions during his lifetime or after death, it is impossible not to mention, referring to the photographs of St. Petersburg, but has not yet met any of his major museum exhibition, it was not issued a separate, dedicated just to him, the album. The exhibition, presented in the Hermitage, a recognition of the outstanding masters, whose talent appreciated.

As part of the educational program for the exhibition held roundtables with an exhibition, an art critic, as well as master classes with photographers. The exhibition is open until 28 June 2009.

Source: partnergallery.ru