Alexander Glyadyelov
Sub-creator UA
Documentary photographer, Shevchenko Prize laureate.
About
"I am not looking for war; I am looking for a human being in the middle of it. For me, photography is a tool of empathy and a silent protest against indifference, capturing the fragile dignity of the human spirit amidst chaos."
A legend of black-and-white documentary photography and a master of visual storytelling. Alexander Glyadyelov’s brand is built on deep humanism and an uncompromising commitment to film. His work is not just a recording of events, but a profound study of the human soul in the most challenging social and military conditions, recognized by the highest international awards and national honors.
Alexander Glyadyelov (born 1955) is one of the most influential documentary photographers of our time. His journey into photography was not through academic art schools, but through a deep internal need to witness the truth. For over three decades, he has remained faithful to a single method: black-and-white film and manual silver-gelatin printing. This technical choice is a matter of principle for him, lending his images a timeless, almost archival quality.
His vision is centered on the "invisible" person — those marginalized by society or caught in the epicenter of humanitarian catastrophes. Glyadyelov doesn't just "take pictures"; he lives alongside his subjects, whether in the streets with homeless children or on the front lines of conflicts in Chechnya, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Ukraine. In 2020, he received the Shevchenko National Prize, confirming his role as a chronicler of modern history. For Alexander, the lens is a tool of empathy, and each frame is a silent protest against indifference, capturing the fragile dignity of a human being in the midst of chaos.
Represented by
Credentials
Awards
- 2024 Order of Merit, 3rd class.
- 2020 Shevchenko National Prize.
- 2002 "Moving Walls" (OSI, NY).
- 2001 Mother Jones Medal of Excellence (San Francisco).
- 1998 Hasselblad Prize (Vevey, Switzerland).
- 1997 Grand Prix Ukrpressphoto ("Abandoned Children").
Solo exhibitions
- 2025 "And I Saw", Ukrainian House, Kyiv
- 2021 "Carousel", NAMU, Kyiv
- 2015 "The World of HIV/AIDS", Odessa
- 2012 "Man and Disease", Somatic Center, Kyiv
- 2011 "Pandemic", Zurich, Switzerland
- 2010 "B-Side", Winzavod, Moscow
- 2009 "The Prison Within", Pente 10, Lisbon
- 2007 "Interviews with Hope", Nairobi, Kenya
- 2006 "Focus on HIV", United Nations, New York
- 2002 "Moving Walls", OSI, New York
- 2001 "Street Children", Bratislava, Slovakia
- 1999 "Abandoned Children", French Cultural Center, Kyiv
- 1996 "The Light and the Shadow", Prague, Czech Republic
Group exhibitions
- 2024 "Ukraine: The Path to Victory", Berlin, Germany 2022 — "The War is Not Over Yet", Kyiv, Ukraine 2014 — "Culture of Confrontation", Mystetskyi Arsenal, Kyiv 2012 — "Sacred", International Photo Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel 2005 — "The Family of Man", Centenary Project, various locations (EU/USA) 1998 — "Images'98", Festival of European Photography, Vevey, Switzerland
Media coverage
- 2025 Suspilne Culture, 2025. "Exhibition of Alexander Glyadyelov’s photographs opens at the Ukrainian House" https://suspilne.media/culture/1096142-v-ukrainskomu-domi-vidkrivaetsa-vistavka-fotografij-oleksandra-gladelova/
- 2025 Ukrayinska Pravda, 2025. "Alexander Glyadyelov: The photographer who sees what we prefer to ignore" https://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2025/06/06/7515863/
- 2025 LB.ua, 2025. "Photographer Alexander Glyadyelov to release a new photobook" https://lb.ua/culture/2025/09/03/694421_fotokniga_oleksandr_glyadielov.html
- 2025 Ukraїner, 2025. "History of independent Ukraine in Alexander Glyadyelov’s photographs" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6z6wioY2NI
- 2025 Refleksiya, 2025. "ALEXANDER GLYADYELOV: A shot can become history | Camera as a path to understanding the war and its consequences" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbItf1wNMds
- 2024 United24 Media, 2024. "Oleksandr Glyadyelov brings Ukraine’s story of loss and resistance to the gates of Paris" https://united24media.com/latest-news/oleksandr-glyadyelov-brings-ukraines-story-of-loss-and-resistance-to-the-gates-of-paris-15697
- 2024 Voice of America, 2024. "'I cannot get used to deaths': documentary photographer Alexander Glyadyelov" https://www.holosameryky.com/a/ya-ne-mozhu-zvyknuty-do-smertei-fotohraf-dokumentalist-oleksandr-hliadielov/7806383.html
- 2023 Ukrainian Photographers, 2023. "Life, death, love, and other inevitable circumstances in the photographs of Alexander Glyadyelov" https://www.ukrainianphotographers.com/uni-story/zhittya-smert-lyubov-ta-inshi-nevidvorotni-obstavini-na-svitlinah-oleksandra-glyadielova
- 2022 FRANCE 24 English, 2022. "A portrait of Ukraine: Alexander Glyadyelov captures the horrors of war" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NohhjfoYhxg
- 2021 Suspilne Culture, 2021. "Prohibiting is not an option. Documentarian Alexander Glyadyelov on photography, war, and love for people" https://suspilne.media/culture/1114778-ne-mozna-zaboronati-dokumentalist-oleksandr-gladelov-pro-fotografiu-vijnu-i-lubov-do-ludej/
- 2020 Kyiv Daily, 2020. "Alexander Glyadyelov: Photography as a document" https://kyivdaily.com.ua/oleksandr-glyadyelov/
- 2019 The Ukrainian Week, 2019. "Alexander Glyadyelov: And I saw..." https://tyzhden.ua/oleksandr-hliadielov-i-pobachyv-ia/
- 2018 DW Ukrainian, 2018. "Exhibition of a Ukrainian photographer in Berlin: about life, death, love, and war" https://www.dw.com/uk/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE-%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B0-%D0%B2-%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BD%D1%96-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE-%D0%B6%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%82%D1%8F-%D1%81%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%82%D1%8C-%D0%BB%D1%8E%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B2-%D1%96-%D0%B2%D1%96%D0%B9%D…
- 2017 Docudays UA, 2017. "Alexander Glyadyelov (Jury 2017)" https://docudays.ua/eng/2017/jury/117/
- 2010 Detector Media, 2010. "Alexander Glyadyelov: My photographs, like my feelings, are always ahead of my thoughts" https://detector.media/community/article/51052/2010-02-11-aleksandr-glyadelov-moy-fotografyy-kak-y-moy-chuvstva-vsegda-operezhayut-mysly/
International fairs
- 2026 "The Price of Freedom", Quai d'Orsay (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Paris, France 2025 — Rotlicht Festival, International Analog Photography Festival, Vienna, Austria 2023 — Paris Photo, International Photography Art Fair, Grand Palais, Paris 2015 — Visa pour l'Image, International Festival of Photojournalism, Perpignan, France 2006 — Open Society Foundations Exhibition, New York, USA 2001 — Hasselblad Masters Exhibit, Gothenburg, Sweden
Personal
- 1996 Official Photographer for international humanitarian missions: MSF, UNICEF, and HRW since 1996. Documented major armed conflicts: Moldova, Nagorno-Karabakh, Chechnya, and Ukraine. Long-term expert of the "Moving Walls" project (Open Society Foundations, NY). One of the few contemporary masters working exclusively with manual silver-gelatin printing.
