BORN IN SLOVAKIA…in 1988, artist Maria Svarbova studied restoration and archaeology before making a shift to photography in 2010. Since that time, her work has found its way onto the pages of Vogue and into solo and group exhibitions in more than 80 galleries around the world. |
SVARBOVA DESCRIBES…her first four years with the camera as a period of “falling in love”, where photography became an obsession, a drug she couldn’t get enough of. During this time, she quickly developed her own unique style as she created dream-like worlds, each one just little more clean, clear, and hauntingly beautiful than the last. |
THE ARCHITECTURE…of public spaces, specifically those built during the Socialist era, have been a particular focus of Svarbova’s work, with pools standing as a recurring theme. In the aquatic pieces shown here, the artist frames out characteristically crisp, geometric scenes rendered in soft pastels and punctuated in shocks of red and royal blue. As for the models… they invariably stand as steely props in the artist’s still life – conveying little more emotion or importance than their concrete / tile surrounds. |
Photography by Maria Svarbova