
Florida. The sunshine state. The political swing-state. The swampland paradise. The tourist fantasy. The sub-tropical fever dream. The place where image and reality become inseparable. Anastasia Samoylova’s award winning new series paints a multi-layered picture of this state with subtle references to its complex history. What is happening in the extremes of Florida is happening across the country.
‘Samoylova’s inventive use of colours and her skilful compositions convey ambiguity – the beauty yet also vulgarity of life in Florida. Each of her photographs tell a layered story: her attentive, eye effortlessly crops complex narratives in single frames and leaves the observer with both, the urge to connect the subject matter with their own personal experience and the longing to dive deep into collective knowledge and the history of this place–however short it may be. ’ Ulrike Heine in her catalogue essay
A book of the work has just been published by Steidl.
Anastasia Samoylova (b. 1984, Moscow; lives in Miami) moves between observational photography, studio practice and installation. In 2020 she had her first solo museum exhibition of ongoing project FloodZone at USF Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa. With over 80 photographs, the book of the project was published by Steidl in 2019.
Founded in 2017 the Frankfurt-based Galerie—Peter—Sillem focuses on contemporary international photography, exhibiting both emerging and well-established artists from all around the globe. The gallery—a member of the Association of German Galleries and Fine Art Dealers (BVDG)—also performs an advisory role for private and corporate photography collections.

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