Riaboff gives face to the familiar Russian
theme of melancholy, personifying it through
the bodies and personalities of his models.
In the positioning of his models and use of
radiant lighting techniques, Riaboff conjures a
complimentary luminescence for each image,
displaying a unique ability to merge elements
from painted portraiture with the silky texture
of a photograph. “At first, I started to shoot with
hard light in the studio, but I became drawn
to work with softer shades,” he told INSPADES.
“This greatly helped to understand how light
works, which allows me to experiment.”
Softened light imparts an ethereal effect,
giving Riaboff’s portraiture a sense of
timelessness, but the ingenuity of Riaboff’s
memorable and stirring portraiture can
be found in his subject’s posture. Riaboff’s
direction of each subject’s placement, with
their deeply penetrative gazes, conveys a
sober regality, while their natural colour
palettes recall the modest beauties of
Renaissance portraitures.
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