Ruslan Lobanov

Born in the Ukraine in 1979, artist Ruslan Lobanov is one of the most unique photographers in the contemporary post-Soviet art space. His cinematic black and white photography celebrates the elaborate mysteries of the female form, setting the scene with collectible accessories, handmade costumes and attentively selected locations inspired in part by his older sister, a designer. Ruslan’s exclusively beautiful subjects possess more than great bodies, each one depicts a character and communicates an everlasting story in which their nakedness is simply one element.

Ruslan has shot for magazines L’Officiel, Normal and Playboy and has worked on photography projects Le Grand Sud in Morocco and Chateau in France before focusing on solo exhibitions. Ruslan has won several awards for his work, most notably at the Black & White Spider Awards in California, the international art prize honouring black and white and mono photography.

Launched during his solo exhibition in Kiev, Ukraine, the photo book Nudes in The City (2015) compiles a range of Ruslan’s images from the last ten years, some never before seen, portraying characters from Havana to Kiev and from Galle to Moscow, each reflecting the inimitable personality of that city. He has since exhibited his Nudes in The City works at Ina Dederer & Friends Gallery in Zurich, Switzerland. He has recently published a numbered and signed limited edition book Not Black And White Cinema, which features his best colour works from the last ten years and is working on The Wrong Door, a compilation of stories and works.