My name is Oleksandr Shapovalov. Born in Mariupol, Ukraine, I have been living and working in Germany since 2022.
As a fine art photographer, I work with movement, time, and perception as the core elements of my visual language. Over a seventeen-year photographic journey, I have developed a signature in-camera technique where images are formed entirely at the moment of contact with reality, free from subsequent digital manipulation.
My visual thinking evolved through diverse photographic worlds. I began in reportage, learning to sense the fleeting moment and respond intuitively. Later, photographing motorsport gave me a deep understanding of dynamics, rhythm, and temporal tension, while my studies of color and composition at art school laid the foundation for my artistic vision.
Over time, traditional photography felt increasingly constraining. I became less interested in how the world appears, and more focused on how it feels. The work of Saul Leiter deeply influenced my sensitivity to color and light as independent carriers of mood, while the Impressionist painters inspired my shift toward experience and atmosphere over precise representation.
This led to a turning point: realizing that photography could function not merely as an image, but as a state of perception. In my current practice, movement, layering, and time converge in a single, intentional act of capture. Preserving this immediacy is essential — catching the fragile moment where sensation precedes interpretation, and the gaze remains open and unfiltered.
In recent years, nature has become central to my work, with a particular focus on trees. I perceive them as living monuments of memory, silence, and enduring presence. Through my lens, I explore the fragile, often overlooked connection between humans and the natural world — a bond rooted in childhood wonder but eroded by modern speed and rationalism. My work is an invitation to slow down, fostering a more attentive and reverent way of relating to the living earth.
These images do not explain or narrate; they invite direct experience. They aim to return the viewer to a primordial, almost childlike and shamanic way of seeing — where nature is encountered not as a backdrop, but as a living, vulnerable, and sacred reality.
Published in PhotoED Magazine, 73
Published in Art Market Magazine, 105
Published in ICM (International Creative Movement) Magazine
Published in Lens Magazine, 111
Exhibitions
2026
„Grafik aus Dortmund 2026“, Dortmund 20.11-13.12. 2026
„Langen Donnerstags“ , Wuppertal 17.09.2026
“The World We Want”, London, 10 -11.04. 2026
2025
Location: Chongqing, China
Title: Art Without Borders, Pashmin Art
Title: Art Without Borders, Pashmin Art
Location: Basel
Title: Art Basel Week, Artboxy
Title: Art Basel Week, Artboxy
Location: Berlin
Title: Nicoleta Gallery, Artboxy
Title: Nicoleta Gallery, Artboxy
Location: Zug
Title: Thomson Gallery, Artboxy
Title: Thomson Gallery, Artboxy
Location: Venice
Title: Mega Art Gallery, EuroExpoArt
Title: Mega Art Gallery, EuroExpoArt
Location: Cologne
Title: ZN1 Gallery, Energia
Title: ZN1 Gallery, Energia
2021
Location: Mariupol
Title: Group exhibitions in Mariupol (2010–2021)
Title: Group exhibitions in Mariupol (2010–2021)
Online
VIRTUAL HORIZONS
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About the Artist and Technique
Oleksandr Shapovalov is a contemporary visual artist and fine art photographer based in Dortmund, Germany. Specializing in impressionistic and abstract nature photography, his unique approach utilizes proprietary in-camera techniques, including Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) and multiple exposures, entirely free from Photoshop or subsequent digital manipulation. Tracing his journey from reportage and motorsport photography in Mariupol, Ukraine, to his current focus on the sacred, silent presence of trees, Oleksandr creates atmospheric, dreamlike imagery that captures a state of pure perception. Explore original collections, contemporary photographic art, and limited edition fine art prints available for galleries and private collectors worldwide.