Born 1981 in Moscow, Russia, Irina Rozovsky moved with her parents to the United States at the age of 8 years. She studied at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, Massachusetts.
In her work, Irina searches inspiration by discovering new worlds. This could be so far unknown countries or special places close to her home. Instead of arranging a particular vision on her subject, she operates with spontaneity and intuition, to capture the ephemeral moment and atmosphere. In doing so, the “camera acts as a collaborator in this experience – photographing, for Rozovsky, is a way of getting to know a place and feeling its essence, a way of capturing the enchantment of the unfamiliar and the fleeting sense of connection that she shares with her subjects” as stated by Eugenie Shinkle. Operating often in conflict areas, the artist prefers to remain the impartial observer instead of confirming existing stereotypes. This “neutral” view is exemplary in her series “One to Nothing” (2008-2010), originating from a journey to Israel. The artist shows the daily life of the two main population groups, the contrasts in the landscape and the traces of the enduring conflict, like modern ruins, without judgement.
“Island In My Mind” (2012-2014) is the result of her voyage to Cuba. Beside images of the vitality of the country and its inhabitants, Irina places photos of silent moments, impressions of the landscape and the daily life. Since 2014, she works on the series “Mountain Black Heart”, which is based on her travel to the Balkans (Former Yugoslavia and neighbouring countries). Here she portraits single persons, urban environments and the countryside.
For other projects, Irina focussed on special places in the United States. “A Rock That Floats …” (2014-15) outlines her impressions, while riding on Americas backroads. Whereas she took the Route 15, the “Traditions Highway” (2017- present) a thoroughfare in Georgia, which is a kind of travel diary. “In Plain Air” (2011-2020) she depicts leisurely moments in the Prospect Park in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Since 2017, Irina cooperates with Manjari Sharma for the series “To See Your Face”, which was originally commissioned for the Talking Pictures exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here join observations of natural settings, the built world and society with private views. Planned as limited five-month pictorial dialogue between the two artists, they continued to reorganise the original image pairs. One of these diptychs is our Artwork of the Month / June 2024.
Besides Irina’s travel-based series, her photographs are placed in other contexts, like for “Miracle Center” (2019-2020), where she inserted her images into found frames. Many are placed in travel frames, with double or multiple pictures, so that diptychs and small series are created. Moreover, many of the artist’s series are published as photobooks.
Irina had many solo exhibitions and participated in group shows and artists talks. Her works are represented in several collections, like The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of the City of New York. Additionally, she shares her artistic experience in the photography workshop space “The Humid”, which she runs with her husband Mark Steinmetz.
Irina lives and works in Athens, Georgia, United States.