{{short description|Russian landscape photographer (born 1980)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}} thumb|Alexander Gronsky

'''Alexander Gronsky''' (Александр Гронский, born 1980) is a Russian landscape photographer.<ref name="sean-ohagan-observer">{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/23/pastoral-moscow-suburbs-alexander-gronsky-photography | date = 23 February 2014 | accessdate = 15 June 2014 | authorlink = Sean O'Hagan (journalist) | publisher = The Observer | title = Pastoral/Moscow Suburbs by Alexander Gronsky – review}}</ref> His photographs of the Russian landscape have been shown in solo exhibitions, received awards, and were published in the book ''Pastoral'' (2013). He is based in Riga, Latvia.<ref name="sean-ohagan-observer"/>

==Life and work== Gronsky was born in Tallinn, Estonia. He became an assistant to a commercial photographer at age 17.<ref name="calvert-22-gallery">"[http://calvert22.org/artists/alexander-gronsky/ Alexander Gronsky] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722031947/http://calvert22.org/artists/alexander-gronsky/ |date=22 July 2014 }}", Calvert 22 Gallery.</ref> In 1998, aged 18, he left Estonia.<ref name="strecker-lens-culture">"[https://www.lensculture.com/articles/alexander-gronsky-pastoral-moscow-suburbs Pastoral: Moscow Suburbs]", LensCulture.</ref> Between 1999 and 2008 he worked as a press photographer for Russian and international media, covering Russia and the former USSR. He joined the Photographer.ru agency in 2003 and in 2006 moved to Russia.<ref>"[http://www.contrastobooks.com/vmchk/Novit%C3%A0/Pastoral.html Pastoral] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704182304/http://www.contrastobooks.com/vmchk/Novit%C3%A0/Pastoral.html |date=4 July 2014 }}", Contrasto.</ref> He works commercially for advertising agencies, corporations and humanitarian organisations.

Since 2008 Gronsky has been oriented more on personal projects<ref name="calvert-22-gallery" /> focusing on how geography influences the emotions and behaviour of its inhabitants, particularly those residing in the Russian landscape: ''Less Than One'' (2006-2009), a portrait of Russia's outermost regions, areas with a population density of less than one person per square kilometer; ''Endless Night'' (2007-2009), Murmansk, the largest city within the Arctic Circle, where the harsh winter is exacerbated by two months of night-time; ''The Edge'' (2008-2010), the same outskirts of Moscow as ''Pastoral'' only in winter; ''Mountains and Waters'' (2011), a study of China in which the mist and cloud that pervade the photos allude to traditional Chinese painting but the subject matter is contemporary: new housing, infrastructure and construction, in diptychs;<ref name="mead-ar">{{cite news | url = http://www.architectural-review.com/reviews/green-and-unpleasant-the-grim-romance-of-moscows-suburbs/8660663.article | date = 9 April 2014 | accessdate = 16 June 2014 | first = Andrew | last = Mead | publisher = Architectural Review | title = Green and Unpleasant: The Grim Romance of Moscow's Suburbs}}</ref> ''Pastoral'' (2008-2012), explores the suburbs between Moscow and the countryside that surrounds it, evoking man's encounter with nature – picnickers eat beside heavy industry, sunbathers lie next to construction sites, and people stroll past piles of urban detritus;<ref>"[http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2014/03/russian-pastoral.html#slide_ss_0=1 Russian Pastoral]", Levallois.</ref> and ''Norilsk'' (2013).

Gronsky's book ''Pastoral'' was published in 2013. As Mikhail Iampolski, professor of Russian and Slavic Studies, writes in the introduction, "The title of the cycle is ironic. A pastoral always depicts a rural idyll, in contrast to the life of city dwellers, to whom it is addressed. In Gronsky’s cycle, the cardinal difference between the rural, the natural and the urban is lifted. This particular pastoral is not about a contrast, but about an indefinite transition."<ref name="strecker-lens-culture"/><ref name="mead-ar"/> The critic Sean O'Hagan, reviewing ''Pastoral'' in ''The Observer'', said "It is essentially, a book about how people use – and abuse – the precious green spaces available to them."<ref name="sean-ohagan-observer" /> Gronsky says he spent two years familiarising himself with all the suburbs of Moscow and a further two years photographing those he considered interesting. Rather than use a large format camera with a tripod as is typical for this style of photography, he kept his equipment to a minimum, using just a portable Mamiya 7 camera.<ref name="world-press-2012">"[http://www.worldpressphoto.org/photo/2012-alexander-gronsky-dls3-al?gallery=2634 2012, Daily Life, 3rd prize stories, Alexander Gronsky ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714130954/http://www.worldpressphoto.org/photo/2012-alexander-gronsky-dls3-al?gallery=2634 |date=14 July 2014 }}", World Press Photo.</ref> This portability meant he did not look like a photographer, and gave him greater agility whilst composing to react to peoples' movements.<ref name="mead-ar" /> Genevieve Fussell, writing in ''The New Yorker'', said the work included "measured compositions and a deft use of color". O'Hagan also said "In photography, the edgeland has also become a prevailing subject in recent years, ... If this is much travelled-territory, Gronsky nevertheless makes it his own."<ref name="sean-ohagan-observer" /> Alexander Strecker, writing in ''LensCulture'', said "Gronsky is a landscape photographer at heart. His skillful use of perspective and talent for composition lead the observer’s eye deeply into the landscape, generating a sense of astonishment for every place portrayed in photo. But simple astonishment deepens into something more complex as we take in the layered images".<ref name="strecker-lens-culture" />

==Publications== *''Contact Sheet 166: Alexander Gronsky.'' Syracuse, NY: Light Work, 2012. {{ISBN|978-0935445787}}. *''Pastoral / Moscow Suburbs.'' Rome: Contrasto, 2013. {{ISBN|978-8869654695}}. Mikhail Iampolski contributes a short essay, "Alexander Gronsky: Givenness without the Given". *''Less than One.'' Tokyo: Tycoon Books, 2014. Edition of 500, {{ISBN|978-4-9906628-4-4}}. Special edition of 15, {{ISBN|978-4-9906628-5-1}}. *''Norilsk.'' Taipei: The Velvet Cell, 2015. {{ISBN|978-1-908889-25-6}}. Edition of 500. *''Mountains and Waters.'' Taipei: The Velvet Cell, 2016. {{ISBN|978-1-908889-35-5}}. Edition of 750 copies. *Alexander Gronsky, Ksenia Babushkina. ''Schema.'' Rīga: Orbīta, 2016. {{ISBN|978-9934-8476-3-9}}. Edition of 700

==Exhibitions== ===Solo exhibitions=== *2011: ''Mountains & Waters,'' Photo Levallois festival, Levallois, France;<ref>"[http://www.photo-levallois.org/en/exhibitions/edition-2011/5/alexander-gronsky.html Award] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714234104/http://www.photo-levallois.org/en/exhibitions/edition-2011/5/alexander-gronsky.html |date=14 July 2014 }}", Levallois.</ref> Polka Galerie, Paris, 2012.<ref>"[http://www.polkagalerie.com/en/exhibitions-mountains-waters-2012.htm Mountains & Waters]", Polka Galerie.</ref> *2012: ''Pastoral,'' Light Work, Syracuse, NY;<ref>"[http://www.lightwork.org/archive/alexander-gronsky-pastoral/ Alexander Gronsky: Pastoral] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623000758/https://www.lightwork.org/archive/alexander-gronsky-pastoral/ |date=23 June 2021 }}", Light Work.</ref> The Wapping Project, London, 14 April – 12 June 2015.<ref>"[http://www.thewappingprojectbankside.com/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/alexander-gronsky-2015 Exhibitions \ Alexander Gronsky] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908081103/http://www.thewappingprojectbankside.com/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/alexander-gronsky-2015 |date=8 September 2015 }}", The Wapping Project.</ref>

===Exhibitions with others=== *2009: ''Minus Ideology,'' Art+Art Gallery, Moscow.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} *2009: ''InsideOutside,'' FotoWeekDC Festival, Washington, DC.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} *2010: ''Eastside Story,'' Polka Gallery, Paris.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} *2011: SI Fest Photography Festival, Savignano sul Rubicone, Italy.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} *2011: ''Territories of Desire'', Backlight Photo Festival, Tampere Art Museum, Tampere, Finland.<ref>[http://www.backlight.fi/archive/bl11/exhibitions/galleries-and-shows/tampere-art-museum-2/ ''Territories of Desire'' exhibition notice], Backlight Photo Festival]. Accessed 14 November 2014.</ref> *2011: ''Crossroads: Contemporary Russian Photography'', Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney.<ref>"[http://tmp.acp.org.au/archives/2011/index.php?obj_id=crossroads Crossroads: Contemporary Russian Photography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714154042/http://tmp.acp.org.au/archives/2011/index.php?obj_id=crossroads |date=14 July 2014 }}", Australian Centre for Photography.</ref>

==Awards== *2003: Participant, World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass, Amsterdam.<ref>"[http://www.worldpressphoto.org/alexander-gronsky Alexander Gronsky] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716135018/http://www.worldpressphoto.org/alexander-gronsky |date=16 July 2014 }}", World Press Photo.</ref> *2004: Highly commended, Ian Parry Scholarship, UK.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20141128151309/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/article233542.ece Sights for sure eyes]", The Sunday Times.</ref> *2008: Finalist, Kandinsky Prize, Moscow.<ref>''Владимир Дудченко'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20110522011301/http://kandinsky-prize.ru/hronika/uchastniki-vistavok/2008/aleksandr-gronskii Проект Пейзажи]. Kandinsky Prize (2008)</ref> *2009: 1st prize, Linhof Young Photographer Award 09.<ref>"[http://www.linhof.com/gallery_e.html Linhof Young Photographer Award 09] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140405214901/http://www.linhof.com/gallery_e.html |date=5 April 2014 }}", Linhof.</ref> *2009: Winner, 2009 Aperture Portfolio Prize, Aperture Foundation, for ''The Edge''.<ref>"[http://www.aperture.org/portfolio-prize/2009-winners/winner-alexander-gronsky/ 2009 Winners - Winner: Alexander Gronsky] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107220510/http://www.aperture.org/portfolio-prize/2009-winners/winner-alexander-gronsky/ |date=7 January 2015 }}", Aperture Foundation.</ref> *2009: Top 50, Critical Mass, Photo Lucida.<ref>"[http://www.photolucida.org/cm_winners.php?aID=1153&CMYear=2009&event_id=10 Critical Mass Top 50, 2009]", Photolucida. Accessed 14 November 2014.</ref> *2010: Grand Prix, Silver Camera, Moscow House of Photography, Moscow.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} *2010: Winner, Foam Paul Huf Award, Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, for ''The Edge''.<ref>"[http://www.foam.org/foam-paul-huf-award/previous-winners Foam Paul Huf Award] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625234829/http://foam.org/foam-paul-huf-award/previous-winners |date=25 June 2014 }}", Foam.</ref> *2011: Winner, Levallois – Epson 2011 Photography Prize, for ''Mountains and Waters''. €10000 grant and exhibition in the Photo Levallois festival.<ref>"[http://www.photo-levallois.org/en/award/6/edition-2011.html Award] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714234219/http://www.photo-levallois.org/en/award/6/edition-2011.html |date=14 July 2014 }}", Levallois.</ref> *2012: ''Pastoral,'' 3rd place, Daily Life, Stories, World Press Photo Awards 2012.<ref name="world-press-2012" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20221004130416/https://www.alexandergronsky.com/ Official website archived via archive.org]}} * [http://www.photographer.ru/resources/names/photographers/98.htm Gronsky profile at Photographer.ru agency]

{{Authority control (arts)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gronsky, Alexander}} Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Russian photographers Category:Artists from Tallinn Category:Landscape photographers