Masha Ivashintsova photo exhibition „Chiaroscuro”

‘Chiaroscuro’ is the first large-scale retrospective of the St. Petersburg photographer and poet Masha Ivashintsova (1942-2000). The photos, taken at a time of creative and political ferment, peek into the everyday lives of the Soviet people, full of love, sadness, absurdity, conflict and laughter.

In 2017 Masha Ivashintsova’s daughter discovered nearly 30,000 photos and negatives - taken between 1969 and 1999 - in an attic in St. Petersburg, and Masha’s story spread across the world. The leading global art website Artnet described the discovery of her archive as one of the most important art events of 2018 since few photographers have brought us a similar unofficial and lyrical view of life inside the Soviet Union. 

The display consists of eighty black-and-white photos along with Ivashintsova’s poems (Estonian translations by Doris Kareva and English by Matthew Hyde).

The exhibition is supported by Estonian Cultural Endownment, Hahnemühle, FP2, Printwise, Taevas Ogilvy, Go Hotel Schnelli, Eesti Ekspress, Lux Express, and Ajar Studios.