Ethereal
All images Maria Svarbova
At first glance, Maria Svarbova's images look like paintings, but a double-take reveals something else. A group of swimmers pose in formation within the luminous surroundings of a public swimming pool. There is a stillness, each image reminiscent of Vermeer or Hopper, drawing the viewer in with expectations of a dark foreboding occurrence in the crisp, clinical setting.
Maria's original technique departs from traditional methods of portraiture, focusing on experimentation with light, colour and atmosphere. Her interest in socialist era architecture and public spaces merges with a modern aesthetic. The carefully placed subjects would seem to be peripheral to each piece. Instead, the vicinity becomes central to the work, where atmosphere itself is art, the sound of silence in each shot, compelling the viewer to keep watching. The cold, stillness comments on the loneliness and isolation that can occur as part of the human existence yet the luminous pastels temper this lending a vibrancy in the lightness of the palette.
“Hers is a radiant talent akin to her images, as she continues to garner international acclaim, setting precedents in her medium.”
Born in 1988, Maria Svarbova currently lives in Slovakia, and despite studying restoration and archaeology, it was her love of photography that prevailed. Her interest in the former interpreted in the architectural aspects of her photographs. Hers is a radiant talent akin to her images, as she continues to garner international acclaim, setting precedents in her medium. She has received various accolades and press attention from the likes of Vogue, Forbes, The Guardian and worldwide publications. It is clear her works place her at the vanguard of her contemporaries, with their originality and ethereal quality, they are indeed transcendent.
See more of her works here.