At the end of an eight-hour shift underground in the Zhdanovskaya Coal Mine, half the time spent crawling on their hands and knees in cool dust, for the equivalent of $30 a month. The miners are smoking the second half of the cigarettes they lit this morning, then pinched out to save for this moment. Donbass region, Ukraine. February 1992.
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The MUUS Collection is pleased to partner with Ki Smith Gallery to present an online exhibition of works by award-winning documentary photographer Shepard Sherbell.
Shepard Sherbell photographed the dissolution of the USSR with unrestricted access while traveling through the fifteen former Soviet republics from 1991 to 1993 on assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel. The resulting images are sobering documents that illuminate the grim environments created by the Soviet state, and the dignity and resilience of the people who lived within them. Capturing images that ranged from poignant to humorous, and agonizing to hopeful, Sherbell’s camera bore witness to the legacy of Soviet totalitarian ideology: failing infrastructure, ecological damage, labor camps, corruption, and the relics of a failed Socialist utopia. In 2001, he published more than 200 of these images in the award-winning book Soviets: Pictures from the End of the USSR. In the introduction, New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner Serge Schmemann wrote: “I know that time spent in… that black-and-white world that Shepard Sherbell has captured will stay with me forever. It is where I learned about the avarice and cruelty of unconstrained state power, and it is where I discovered the enormous capacity of the human spirit to persevere.” Today, Soviets remains an unparalleled documentary of the fall of an empire.
The MUUS Collection is committing an initial $5,000 donation as well as two thirds of proceeds from the sale of Sherbell’s work to The Kyiv Independent to support the integral practice of photojournalism and independent reporting. See the full exhibition at Ki Smith Gallery.
The MUUS Collection is pleased to partner with Ki Smith Gallery to present an online exhibition of works by award-winning documentary photographer Shepard Sherbell.
Shepard Sherbell photographed the dissolution of the USSR with unrestricted access while traveling through the fifteen former Soviet republics from 1991 to 1993 on assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel. The resulting images are sobering documents that illuminate the grim environments created by the Soviet state, and the dignity and resilience of the people who lived within them. Capturing images that ranged from poignant to humorous, and agonizing to hopeful, Sherbell’s camera bore witness to the legacy of Soviet totalitarian ideology: failing infrastructure, ecological damage, labor camps, corruption, and the relics of a failed Socialist utopia. In 2001, he published more than 200 of these images in the award-winning book Soviets: Pictures from the End of the USSR. In the introduction, New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner Serge Schmemann wrote: “I know that time spent in… that black-and-white world that Shepard Sherbell has captured will stay with me forever. It is where I learned about the avarice and cruelty of unconstrained state power, and it is where I discovered the enormous capacity of the human spirit to persevere.” Today, Soviets remains an unparalleled documentary of the fall of an empire.
The MUUS Collection is committing an initial $5,000 donation as well as two thirds of proceeds from the sale of Sherbell’s work to The Kyiv Independent to support the integral practice of photojournalism and independent reporting. See the full exhibition at Ki Smith Gallery.
The MUUS Collection is pleased to partner with Ki Smith Gallery to present an online exhibition of works by award-winning documentary photographer Shepard Sherbell.
Shepard Sherbell photographed the dissolution of the USSR with unrestricted access while traveling through the fifteen former Soviet republics from 1991 to 1993 on assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel. The resulting images are sobering documents that illuminate the grim environments created by the Soviet state, and the dignity and resilience of the people who lived within them. Capturing images that ranged from poignant to humorous, and agonizing to hopeful, Sherbell’s camera bore witness to the legacy of Soviet totalitarian ideology: failing infrastructure, ecological damage, labor camps, corruption, and the relics of a failed Socialist utopia. In 2001, he published more than 200 of these images in the award-winning book Soviets: Pictures from the End of the USSR. In the introduction, New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner Serge Schmemann wrote: “I know that time spent in… that black-and-white world that Shepard Sherbell has captured will stay with me forever. It is where I learned about the avarice and cruelty of unconstrained state power, and it is where I discovered the enormous capacity of the human spirit to persevere.” Today, Soviets remains an unparalleled documentary of the fall of an empire.
The MUUS Collection is committing an initial $5,000 donation as well as two thirds of proceeds from the sale of Sherbell’s work to The Kyiv Independent to support the integral practice of photojournalism and independent reporting. See the full exhibition at Ki Smith Gallery.
The MUUS Collection is pleased to partner with Ki Smith Gallery to present an online exhibition of works by award-winning documentary photographer Shepard Sherbell.
Shepard Sherbell photographed the dissolution of the USSR with unrestricted access while traveling through the fifteen former Soviet republics from 1991 to 1993 on assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel. The resulting images are sobering documents that illuminate the grim environments created by the Soviet state, and the dignity and resilience of the people who lived within them. Capturing images that ranged from poignant to humorous, and agonizing to hopeful, Sherbell’s camera bore witness to the legacy of Soviet totalitarian ideology: failing infrastructure, ecological damage, labor camps, corruption, and the relics of a failed Socialist utopia. In 2001, he published more than 200 of these images in the award-winning book Soviets: Pictures from the End of the USSR. In the introduction, New York Times correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner Serge Schmemann wrote: “I know that time spent in… that black-and-white world that Shepard Sherbell has captured will stay with me forever. It is where I learned about the avarice and cruelty of unconstrained state power, and it is where I discovered the enormous capacity of the human spirit to persevere.” Today, Soviets remains an unparalleled documentary of the fall of an empire.
The MUUS Collection is committing an initial $5,000 donation as well as two thirds of proceeds from the sale of Sherbell’s work to The Kyiv Independent to support the integral practice of photojournalism and independent reporting. See the full exhibition at Ki Smith Gallery.
Shepard Sherbell (1944-2018) was a documentary photographer and photojournalist whose work covering the collapse of the Soviet Union culminated in the award-winning book Soviets: Photographs from the End of the USSR.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Sherbell began his career as an editor for The East Side Review — A Magazine of Contemporary Culture while he was a student at Columbia University. Through the Review, Sherbell became enmeshed with Beat Generation authors like Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, and Gary Snyder; these collaborations led to Sherbell’s involvement with the counterculture movement in New York and in London, where he took up photography, capturing some of the most influential musical groups of the generation from the Rolling Stones and the Beatles to Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.
After a decade photographing literary icons and rockstars, Sherbell relocated to Washington D.C. and focused his lens on the political world, covering conflict zones and major historic events, from the Nicaraguan Revolution to the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the early 1990s, on assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel, Sherbell moved to the USSR, extensively photographing the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its aftermath. The series captured the lives and realities of everyday people inhabiting the former superpower, resulting in images that range from poignant to humorous, and agonizing to hopeful; in 2001, he published Soviets: Pictures from the End of the USSR with more than 200 of these black-and-white images. In the introduction to Soviets, author Serge Schmemann wrote: “I know that time spent in… that black-and-white world that Shepard Sherbell has captured will stay with me forever. It is where I learned about the avarice and cruelty of unconstrained state power, and it is where I discovered the enormous capacity of the human spirit to persevere.” Today, Soviets remains an unparalleled documentary of the fall of an empire.
Sherbell received numerous awards throughout his career for his photo essays, coverage of conflict zones, press photography, as well as an award for Best Photography Book for Soviets. Sherbell died in 2018 in his native New York.
Shepard Sherbell (1944-2018) was a documentary photographer and photojournalist whose work covering the collapse of the Soviet Union culminated in the award-winning book Soviets: Photographs from the End of the USSR.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Sherbell began his career as an editor for The East Side Review — A Magazine of Contemporary Culture while he was a student at Columbia University. Through the Review, Sherbell became enmeshed with Beat Generation authors like Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, and Gary Snyder; these collaborations led to Sherbell’s involvement with the counterculture movement in New York and in London, where he took up photography, capturing some of the most influential musical groups of the generation from the Rolling Stones and the Beatles to Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.
After a decade photographing literary icons and rockstars, Sherbell relocated to Washington D.C. and focused his lens on the political world, covering conflict zones and major historic events, from the Nicaraguan Revolution to the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the early 1990s, on assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel, Sherbell moved to the USSR, extensively photographing the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its aftermath. The series captured the lives and realities of everyday people inhabiting the former superpower, resulting in images that range from poignant to humorous, and agonizing to hopeful; in 2001, he published Soviets: Pictures from the End of the USSR with more than 200 of these black-and-white images. In the introduction to Soviets, author Serge Schmemann wrote: “I know that time spent in… that black-and-white world that Shepard Sherbell has captured will stay with me forever. It is where I learned about the avarice and cruelty of unconstrained state power, and it is where I discovered the enormous capacity of the human spirit to persevere.” Today, Soviets remains an unparalleled documentary of the fall of an empire.
Sherbell received numerous awards throughout his career for his photo essays, coverage of conflict zones, press photography, as well as an award for Best Photography Book for Soviets. Sherbell died in 2018 in his native New York.
Shepard Sherbell (1944-2018) was a documentary photographer and photojournalist whose work covering the collapse of the Soviet Union culminated in the award-winning book Soviets: Photographs from the End of the USSR.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Sherbell began his career as an editor for The East Side Review — A Magazine of Contemporary Culture while he was a student at Columbia University. Through the Review, Sherbell became enmeshed with Beat Generation authors like Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, and Gary Snyder; these collaborations led to Sherbell’s involvement with the counterculture movement in New York and in London, where he took up photography, capturing some of the most influential musical groups of the generation from the Rolling Stones and the Beatles to Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.
After a decade photographing literary icons and rockstars, Sherbell relocated to Washington D.C. and focused his lens on the political world, covering conflict zones and major historic events, from the Nicaraguan Revolution to the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the early 1990s, on assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel, Sherbell moved to the USSR, extensively photographing the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its aftermath. The series captured the lives and realities of everyday people inhabiting the former superpower, resulting in images that range from poignant to humorous, and agonizing to hopeful; in 2001, he published Soviets: Pictures from the End of the USSR with more than 200 of these black-and-white images. In the introduction to Soviets, author Serge Schmemann wrote: “I know that time spent in… that black-and-white world that Shepard Sherbell has captured will stay with me forever. It is where I learned about the avarice and cruelty of unconstrained state power, and it is where I discovered the enormous capacity of the human spirit to persevere.” Today, Soviets remains an unparalleled documentary of the fall of an empire.
Sherbell received numerous awards throughout his career for his photo essays, coverage of conflict zones, press photography, as well as an award for Best Photography Book for Soviets. Sherbell died in 2018 in his native New York.
Shepard Sherbell (1944-2018) was a documentary photographer and photojournalist whose work covering the collapse of the Soviet Union culminated in the award-winning book Soviets: Photographs from the End of the USSR.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Sherbell began his career as an editor for The East Side Review — A Magazine of Contemporary Culture while he was a student at Columbia University. Through the Review, Sherbell became enmeshed with Beat Generation authors like Allen Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, and Gary Snyder; these collaborations led to Sherbell’s involvement with the counterculture movement in New York and in London, where he took up photography, capturing some of the most influential musical groups of the generation from the Rolling Stones and the Beatles to Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.
After a decade photographing literary icons and rockstars, Sherbell relocated to Washington D.C. and focused his lens on the political world, covering conflict zones and major historic events, from the Nicaraguan Revolution to the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. In the early 1990s, on assignment for the German weekly Der Spiegel, Sherbell moved to the USSR, extensively photographing the dissolution of the Soviet Union and its aftermath. The series captured the lives and realities of everyday people inhabiting the former superpower, resulting in images that range from poignant to humorous, and agonizing to hopeful; in 2001, he published Soviets: Pictures from the End of the USSR with more than 200 of these black-and-white images. In the introduction to Soviets, author Serge Schmemann wrote: “I know that time spent in… that black-and-white world that Shepard Sherbell has captured will stay with me forever. It is where I learned about the avarice and cruelty of unconstrained state power, and it is where I discovered the enormous capacity of the human spirit to persevere.” Today, Soviets remains an unparalleled documentary of the fall of an empire.
Sherbell received numerous awards throughout his career for his photo essays, coverage of conflict zones, press photography, as well as an award for Best Photography Book for Soviets. Sherbell died in 2018 in his native New York.
