Maria Svarbova: In the Swimming Pool at Leica Store Miami Gallery

Through Thu 28 Sep, 2017

In the Swimming Pool is Maria’s largest series yet, originating in 2014 and continuing to develop to date. Sparked by a hunt for interesting locations, her fascination with the space of public swimming pools contributed to developing her visual style. Sterile, geometric beauty of old pools set the tone for these photographs. Each of them pictures a different pool, usually built in the Socialist Era, in various locations in Slovakia.

There is almost cinematographic quality to the highly controlled sceneries that Maria captures. The figures are mid-movement, but there is no joyful playfulness to them. Frozen in the composition, the swimmers are as smooth and cold as the pools tiles. The colours softly vibrate in a dream-like atmosphere. Despite the retro setting, the pictures somehow evoke a futuristic feeling as well, as if they were taken somewhere completely alien. There is no disturbing emotion, there is no individuality in their stillness. The artificial detachment, created by Maria’s visual vision, allows unique visual pleasure, unattainable in real life.

Maria Svarbova was born in 1988; she currently lives in Slovakia. Despite studying restoration and archeology, her preferred artistic medium is photography. From 2010 to the present, the immediacy of Maria’s photographic instinct continues to garner international acclaim and is setting new precedents in photographic expression. The recipient of several prestigious awards, her solo and group exhibitions have placed her among the vanguard of her contemporaries, attracting features in Vogue, Forbes, The Guardian, and publications around the world; her work is frequently in the limelight of social media. Maria’s reputation also earned her a commission for a billboard-sized promotion on the massive Taipei 101 tower, in Taiwan.

Maria’s work has been published in The Guardian, EL Pais, Leica, La Republica, Internazionale, Vogue Korea, Vogue Italia, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s bazaar, Behance, Instagram, Instragram Russia, iGnant, Fubiz,  Him Production and others. To view more of Maria’s work, visit her website.

Opening and artist talk
Thursday, September 28th at 7:30 p.m.

Leica Store Miami
372 Miracle Mile
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305-921-4433
www.leicastoremiami.com

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