Petr Lovigin was born in 1981 and studied architecture in his hometown of Yaroslavl on the Volga River in Russia. He later became fascinated by photography and displayed a ironic eye as he began to travel the world to capture images. He photographed India, Jamaica, Africa, and, of course, his Russian homeland. His first photography series, Fall in Love, was taken in black and white and explored the passion of two dancers, Julia and Sergei. Lovigin has been influenced by the work of Arthur Rimbaud and often cites his poetry in the original French, either in his writing or on his photography blog that is followed by 30 000 fans.

In 2012, Lovigin crossed Russia to give master classes in photography. These travels gave rise to the Planet Lovigin series that was later published in book form by the German editor Kehrer Verlag. Lovigin showed the Russia of today through images of its people, its structures, its beauty, and its disarray. His work revealed a country where the traces of the former USSR are still tangible. But Lovigin is also intrigued by fairy tales and dreams; in his third series, My Louis, he used a diverse range of elements to craft images of Louis Armstrong in different locations around the world, creating a type of alter ego that reminds us that we are all surrounded by marvels.

In 2011, the French magazine Courrier International praised “the artist’s irony and poetic vision” and noted the fearless manner in which Lovigin used photography to evoke the moods and mindsets of both his compatriots and the people he encountered during his wide travels.

His photographs have been shown in numerous exhibitions, most recently at the Museum of Photography Thessaloniki, the Photobiennale in Moscow, and the Istanbul Modern Art Museum. His work is held in private collections in New York, Paris, London, Vancouver, Roma, Hamburg, Munich, Madrid, and Cologne.