Conceptual Photography: Alexej Sachov at The Photography Show 2026
Park Avenue Armory, New York · Solo Booth B12 · April 22-26, 2026
Presented by Form. Gallery
Three bodies of work exploring a single question: how life begins, evolves, and survives. Aesthetically, the projects explore the emergence of form and color. A process-driven photographic practice conducted entirely during scuba dives — the ocean as studio, laboratory, and archive.
Chronicles of an Emerging Diversity
2022 - ongoing · Sculptural intervention, strobe-lit photography
Sachov collects marine debris during dives and compresses it underwater, then releases it, simulating the conditions of a primordial explosion. As fragments expand and collide, figures emerge by chance. Suspended particles of sand and plankton, illuminated by strobe, produce the illusion of a cosmic field. In this way, form emerges out of “nothing”. Every object is collected and removed from the water after each session.
The Knight, 2023
The Ballerina, 2023
Bobby, 2023
The Jewel of Nature
2020 - ongoing · Macro photography, coral reef surfaces
Coral reefs are painting, and have been for hundreds of millions of years. These close-up photographs isolate the dense visual field of reef surfaces where dozens of species compete on a single plane, each deploying a different color, texture, and survival strategy. The works examine biological abstraction as a form of image-making that predates and parallels human art history. These vibrant corals grow on the remains of earlier life. Their organic forms, shaped by nature, carry a quiet symbolism of fertility and rebirth.
The Jewel of Nature #1, 2025
The Prehistoric Art of Nature #1, 2025
The Jewel of Nature #9, 2025
The Secret Code of Nature
2021 - ongoing · Long-exposure macro photography, night dives
The work conducts visual research into a progression from dot to line to symbol to nascent form. Living organisms attracted to underwater light sources during night dives act as the image-makers.
Extended exposures in macro mode across a three-inch field record this process as luminous inscriptions against a dark ground. The artists initiate the process but do not compose the result, allowing the work to become a document of hunting and survival in motion.
The Trace of Hope, 2022
The Code, 2022
Micro Code, 2022
About
Alexej Sachov (b. 1972, Kharkiv, Ukraine) is a Ukrainian-German artist whose practice transforms scuba diving into a medium for conceptual image-making. Working exclusively underwater without composites or digital painting, Sachov uses the ocean as a site of direct encounter with biological processes that precede and exceed human intention. His work sits at the intersection of photography, performance, and environmental practice.
Sachov is represented by Form. Gallery (France). He lives and works between Kyiv and the world's oceans.
Selected exhibitions & recognition
- Aesthetica Art Prize: Finalist 2024 (exhibition at York Art Gallery, UK). Selected for Celebrating 20 Years, a group exhibition of 50 artists at Mercer Gallery, Harrogate (opening 2 May 2026).
- Photo Basel 2024, presented by form.gallery. Named Best of Photo Basel by The Guardian and PHmuseum.
- Photo Basel 2026, presented by M ART Gallery (upcoming).
- VOLTA Basel · ST-ART Strasbourg · IPA 2023, 1st place + Jury Top 5 Selection.
The Photography Show presented by AIPAD
The Photography Show presented by AIPAD (Association of International Photography Art Dealers) is the longest-running fair dedicated to the photographic medium, with over four decades of editions.
April 22-26, 2026 ·
Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York. Solo Booth B12.
Presented by
Form. Gallery.