Alexey Titarenko

Alexey Titarenko is a photographer known for his evocative black-and-white images that explore the emotional essence of urban life.

Born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1962, he began photographing at the age of nine and held his first solo exhibition at sixteen. He earned a Master’s degree in Cinematic and Photographic Arts from the Leningrad Institute of Culture in 1983.

Titarenko’s early series, Nomenklatura of Signs (1986–1991), offered a critical perspective on Soviet bureaucracy through experimental photomontages. His international breakthrough came with City of Shadows (1992–1994), a body of work that captured the human condition in post-Soviet Russia using long exposures and camera movement to create ghostlike figures.

His photographs are held in major public collections, including the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and the Centre Pompidou. Known for his meticulous darkroom techniques such as selective bleaching and toning, Titarenko creates images that blur the line between documentation and metaphor.

Today, he lives and works in New York City, continuing to expand his exploration of time, memory, and the urban experience. (Website, Instagram)