Moscow exhibition celebrates dream-like work of Gregori Maiofis

The dream-like and humorous artwork of artist Gregori Maiofis with its images of circus animals and ballet dancers has gone on show at the Moscow Multimedia Art Museum. The exhibition, Bestiary, comprises photographs in delicate sepia tones and shades of grey with monkeys, elephants, lions and bears posing next to delicate ballet dancers in tutus. The effect is a kind of medieval bestiary, a book of beasts where animals were linked with morality and religion.

Alexander Borovskiy, head of the contemporary art department of the State Russian Museum, said: “All works by Gregori Maiofis are self-sufficient statements with an accomplished visual subject. He has the talent of a storyteller.”

Maiofis, who divides his time between St Petersburg and Los Angeles, has long experimented with traditional darkroom techniques. For Bestiary he used the bromoil process, a technique that was popular in the early 20th century. The result is a series of photographs with a soft, painterly quality.

The exhibition, a collaboration between the Multimedia Art Museum and the St Petersburg-based Marina Gisich Gallery, runs until 8 September.