The Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography opens a new exhibition season with a jubilee retrospective of Vladimir Lagrange, whose work has become the very image of the “thaw” of the 1960s.
The photographer’s overwhelming desire to observe the world, his attention towards people, and the amazing sense of the spirit of the era have provided us with an extensive archive. Lagrange’s works became a recognized classic of Soviet art, while remaining in consonance with what was happening with photography in the world— the rise of the humanistic movement, the work of the young photographic agency Magnum.
Lagrange was fascinated by photography from an early age—he took photographs of his schoolmates and the landscapes of the Crimea while on holiday. It was no surprise that, after joining the TASS Photo Chronicle in 1959 as an apprentice, he rather quickly became a full-time photographer. His photographs were published in the newspapers Pravda, Literaturnaya Gazeta, the German Die Freie Welt, the magazine Soviet Photo and the magazine Soviet Union, where he worked for more than 20 years.
Following the photographer’s gaze through the decades, the viewer will witness changes in Soviet and then Russian life. But, regardless of the moods of the eras, Lagrange always looked at his subjects with affection and understanding, even in difficult years, capturing the poetry of life.
Vladimir Lagrange : Lagrange’s Streets
September 5 – November 17
Lumiere Brothers Photography Center
Bolotnaya embankment, 3, p. 1
Moscow, Russia
