A gifted portraitist, Israeli photographer Michal Chelbin is making a big splash this month with overlapping solo exhibitions, titled The Black Eye, in New York and Los Angeles and the release of an eponymous monograph of color pictures of young wrestlers in Russia and the Ukraine. Shot over a four-year period, the compelling images capture the youthful athletes right after training sessions and matches — when they are tired, bruised, and still dripping in sweat — and in moments of repose, when they appear most vulnerable.
Michal Chelbin: The Black Eye is on view at Andrea Meislin Gallery in New York through November 6 and opens at M+B in Los Angeles on October 23. Her new monograph, published by Twin Palms Publishers, is available at Amazon.com.
Click through below for a gallery of images.
