Boris Mikhailov

Boris Mikhailov was born in Ukraine in 1938. His challenging and provocative photographs document human casualties in post-communist Eastern Europe after the demise of the Soviet Union. 

 

Since the mid-1960s, Boris Mikhailov has explored photography’s full range of possibilities and produced an uncompromising yet ironically humorous portrait of his close surroundings. His tireless investigations into photographic techniques and stylistic means, as well as his frequent alternation between conceptual and documentary work, have contributed to making Mikhailov one of the most influential photographers living today.

 

Mikhailov represented Ukraine at the 57th Venice Biennale (2017). Other recent solo exhibitions include Palazzo Esposizioni and Fotomuseum Den Haag (2024); Maison Européenne de la Photographie, France (2022), Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (2019); Before Sleep/After Drinking, C/O Berlin Foundation, Berlin (2019); Sprovieri, London (2018); Fotomuseum, Antwerp (2016); Kunstverein Wolfenbüttel (2016); MADRE, Naples (2015); Camera Italian Centre for Photography, Turin (2015); Sprengel Museum, Hannover (2013); Museum of Modern Art, New York (2011); and Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2010). 

 

A selection of his work was recently featured in the group shows: ‘Another Kind of Life: Photography on the Margins’, Barbican Centre, London (2018); 5th Odessa Biennale (2017); ‘The Human Condition Session II’, Moscow Museum of Modern Art (2016). Mikhailov was the recipient of the 2016 Goslar Kaiserring Prize; the 2012 Spectrum International Prize for Photography; the Citibank 2001 Photography Prize; and the 2000 Hasselblad Foundation International Award, among others.

 

His work is included in important public collections, including: Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin; ICA, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Tate Modern, London; Tel Aviv Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; MoMA, New York.