Today we will talk about the 2005 retrospective exhibition dedicated to the 60th anniversary of one of the most significant photographers of Kharkiv and Ukraine – Oleg Malyovany, a representative of the first wave of the Kharkiv School of Photography.

Oleg Malyovany, a member of the legendary “Vremya” group, like many other photographers, received an engineering education. In many ways, this helped him experiment with various types of manipulation of the photographic materials available at the time. Collage, isophelia and solarization were the main methods that formed the basis of the artist’s creative path.

In Malyovany’s works, particular emphasis was placed on color and formal aspects.
Numerous nude bodies, stunning colors, contrasts, almost abstract patches of color – in short, there was plenty to surprise the Kharkiv audience!

The project exhibition consisted of 60 photographs created from 1970 onward and was divided into separate blocks by theme and chronology.
The artist wanted to show and revisit his own favorite works, so each block necessarily included “hits” and the most radical works from his photographic series.

“A man with an eternally beautiful perm that even Kharkiv fashionistas envy. He attracts attention as an interesting personality, both through himself and his works,” said Kharkiv residents who came to the exhibition. Among them were friends, photographers, artists, architects, government officials, directors and even the Polish consul, Jarosław Książek.

At the time, the opening of the project “Retrospective. 60 Photographs” set a record for the Municipal Gallery in terms of the number of people who came to congratulate Malyovany!