State Russian Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSPHOTO presents the first solo exhibition of works by Vladimir Sichov in Saint Petersburg, arranged for display in Russia by law firm “TM–Dedenсe.”
Vladimir Sichov made his way from Soviet underground to French fashion houses, although his name is virtually unknown to Russian audience.
Having become interested in photography in the mid-1960s in Kazan, Vladimir Sichov moved to Moscow in 1972. There he worked at the Trade Union of Graphic Artists, took photos of street life and portraits of fellow nonconformist artists, and held apartment exhibitions of nonconformist art.
In 1980, Vladimir Sichov emigrated to France and brought his photo archive through the Iron Curtain. The photographs he made in the Soviet Union were first published by Paris Match, then Stern, Oggi and Life, which made the author the most published magazine photographer in the world that year. It also led to a contract with Vogue. In the beginning of the 1980s, Sichov took pictures of fashion shows and made advertisements for iconic French couturiers. From 1980 to 2010, he worked as a photographer at Sipa Press Agency and thus witnessed many historic events.
The first retrospective of Vladimir Sichov in Saint Petersburg includes more than 50 photographs, produced by the master between the 1970s and 1990s. They depict everyday life in USSR, exhibition openings, and portraits of nonconformist artists (Ilya Kabakov, Ilya Glazunov). Photographs from the French period, 1980s — 1990s, captured on film many prominent figures of the world culture: Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel, Kenzō Takada, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Helmut Newton, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Vladimir Sichov, From Soviet Times to Grand Couturiers
15 December 2018 — 10 February 2019
State Museum and Exhibition Center ROSPHOTO
35, Bolshaya Morskaya Street, Front Building Exhibition Hall, 2nd floor
