Series I · Phase ¾ — London (Exhibition Recap)

London, August 06—10, 2025 — Presented by Unsolicited Proposals at 17 Empress Studios, SW6 1TR, London, Alexander Karnyukhin’s focused installation Series I · Phase ¾ brought a quiet, deliberate intensity to the portrait genre. Part of a multi-year typology project, the work holds to a single vantage point, a tranquil pose, and the space for individuality to surface without direction or theatrics. Over its five-day run, the exhibition drew many members of London’s photographic community—curators, editors, artists, and educators—who engaged closely with the project’s minimalist rigor.

What visitors saw

Six portraits hung in a steady cadence—each an archival pigment print at 500 × 600 mm (image size), edition 1/5 + 2 AP. The format remained constant; the experience did not. Viewers moved between subtle shifts of posture and expression, reading presence rather than performance. Casting emphasized clarity of character over styling, foregrounding the human figure without the distractions of trend or spectacle.

How it worked

Executed in a controlled studio setup, the frame and lighting were kept consistent—calibrated for nuance rather than display. Within that clarity, small variations did the work: the line of a shoulder, the set of the mouth, the temperature of a gaze. The series avoided spectacle and posturing; it asked for attention and rewarded it with closeness.

About the artist

Alexander Karnyukhin (b. 1988) is a Brooklyn-based commercial and editorial photographer and art director. Alongside executive portraiture and magazine features, he maintains a studio practice grounded in clarity, restraint, and respect for the subject. Series I is his ongoing inquiry into how typology and empathy can co-exist in contemporary portraiture.

Exhibition credits

Title: Series I · Phase ¾ (printed 2025)

Dates: August 06—10, 2025

Venue: 17 Empress Studios, SW6 1TR, London

Presented by: Unsolicited Proposals (London)

Medium: Archival pigment prints

Image size: 500 × 600 mm

Edition: 1/5 + 2 AP