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In addition to the Maison Européene de la Photo’s new spring shows, a couple of off-the-beaten-track galleries offer new perspectives in contemporary photography.

The Russian Tea Room Gallery, specialising in contemporary Russian photography, juxtaposes the work of Russian photographer Igor Savchenko and that of Japanese photographer Shunsuke Ohno in its new show Moderato.

Savchenko’s unpopulated black and white compositions balance geometric shapes with that elusive melancholy of the “Russian soul“.

Ohno’s series, 1 second in Tokyo, is a colourful journey through the cityscapes of Tokyo. Static elements frame the swiftly moving blurs of trains and people, infusing the compositions with the urgency of the city.

Russian Tea Room moves away from the standard white cube model, finding innovative methods of utilising the gallery space; for Moderato each photographer is given their own space, which accentuates their individual techniques while also drawing out the subtle comparisons between what are essentially two very different photographers.

Igor Savchenko, 2009, © Igor Savchenko

Shunsuke Ohno, from Tokyo 1 sec series, 2008, © Shunsuke Ohno

Over at Galerie Philippe Chaume the disorienting photographs of Patrick Messina are on show. Using tilt-shift photography, Messina creates vertiginous, unreal looking city scenes and seascapes that are almost painterly in their vast blueness. The selection of prints take us on a – slightly distorted – journey from Brittany to the Cape, passing through Tokyo and North America.

Patrick Messina, Le Cap

Moderato is on at Russian Tea Room Gallery until 28/03/10

Patrick Messina is on at Galerie Philippe Chaume until 20/03/10

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