Andrey Belkov

Self-taught artist Andrey Belkov was first exposed to photography as a child in Soviet Russia, but he did not begin his career as a professional photographer until purchasing a digital camera in 2005. Belkov’s photographs are connected to his travels, yet he eschews geographic specificity in his work. The artist researches a place before visiting, but does not plan his images in advance. He photographs only what appeals to his interests in light, color, and shape—the qualities that contribute to a formally interesting picture. “I don’t like ‘places,’” Belkov has said, “I like what I see in them.” As such, his photography—typically featuring landscapes and still life scenes—does not represent so much as capture chromatic intensities, whether found in desolate parts of nature or seen in simple patterns on walls.