Alexander Kargaltsev

Alexander Kargaltsev was born in Moscow. He came to New York in 2010 to study at the New York Film Academy. He never came back to Russia after applying for asylum in the United States.[2] As a photographer, Kargaltsev is known for his series of nude male portraiture. In 2012 he published a book Asylum with nude portraits of Russian gay asylum seekers in the United States.[3][4] His activism works also included organization of a protest against IKEA for the removal of a photograph of a lesbian couple from the Russian edition of Ikea Family Live magazine.[5]

His short movies, The Cell (2010) and The Well (2009) won him a scholarship at the Russian State University of Cinematography.[6] Kargaltsev moved to New York City in 2009 after winning a scholarship to the New York Film Academy[7] and applied for asylum[8] in the United States, citing persecution, based on his sexual orientation.[9] Kargaltsev's asylum was approved in May 2011 after nine months of hearings. The evidences gathered was presented to USA Immigration and Naturalization Services.[10]

Kargaltsev's debut as a theatre director was the play The Net, staged in Dixon Place in New York.[11] He directed the play Crematorium, based on a story written by Russian playwright Valeriy Pecheykin. The play was staged in its abridged version at New York's Shelter Studios and Gene Frankel Theatre.[12][13]

At the time of the Sochi Olympics, Alexander Kargaltsev responded to a controversial photo of Russian-American gallerist Dasha Zhukova. On her photo, she is sitting on a chair composed of a semi-nude black woman with her legs up in the air. In order to reverse the “Visual injustice and offense” of Zhukova's image, Kargaltsev created the image with a naked Afro-American man, who is sitting on a naked white man on his back with his legs aloft.[14]

Crematorium for gays, scene from the play.

Poster shot for Crematorium.

Performance of Crematorium

Shot from performance of Crematorium

Sasha Kargaltsev's answer to Dasha Zhukova

• Asylum. Alexander Kargaltsev. 2012. ISBN 978-0-9883289-0-7.

Kargaltsev's works are in the permanent collection of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art.[25]

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  Nude on stone paving
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  Portrait of Dmitry Bozin
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  Vladik and daemons
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  Tyler
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  The summer we met
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  Study in gay affection
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  Part of a homoerotic series of photographs of models around Central Park
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  IKEA Gets Queered with Russian Kiss-In
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  Life study series of photos
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  Mitt Jones relaxing
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  Micky Friedmann in Moscow
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  Kargaltsev posed nude on rocks
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  Portrait of Luis.
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  Study on stairs
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  Study series
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  Last supper parallel
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  Crouched study.
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  Untitled
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  Kelvin and Aren
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  Untitled
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  Untitled
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  Nude study
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  A lifeguard
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  At work
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  Blower
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  Collage

• Media related to Sasha Kargaltsev at Wikimedia Commons
• Alexander Kargaltsev at IMDb
• Polaroids
• The Well by Kargaltsev on Vimeo
• Interview with Kargaltsev on Radio Svoboda
• Alexander Kargaltsev in Visual AIDS