Uzbekistan: Russian Avant-Garde

For over 40 years, Yaffa Assouline has captured the luxury and publishing industry as a journalist, consultant and creative art director. She specializes in innovative and made-to-measure publishing. She is the author of the book Uzbekistan: Road to Samarkand (Assouline, 2020), a photographic journey through the cultural and natural riches of Uzbekistan, as well as Uzbekistan: Avant-Garde Orientalists (Assouline, 2021), the first volume in this series of books, presenting Russian avant-garde artists who have lived or stayed in Central Asia, capturing themes and subjects of the region in their art.

After graduating school, while working in theater and film, Harald Gottschalk met the renowned photographer Robert Doisneau; Gottschalk became Doisneau’s assistant and began fulfilling his childhood dream to become a photographer himself. Gottschalk has worked with other famous artists including photographer Keiichi Tahara and painter Robert Combas, and has had more than 60 solo and collective exhibitions in France and abroad. Parallel to his personal work, Gottschalk collaborates on many prestigious projects and publications with international brands. He was the photographer for the book Avant-Garde Orientalists.

John E. Bowlt is a professor at University of Southern California, and director at Institute of Modern Russian Culture, Los Angeles.