Dolly Faibyshev

Best in Show & Palm Springs

online exclusive exhibitions

A woman in a pink dress with black polka dots is kneeling on a purple surface, holding the nose of a large poodle dressed in a clown costume with a black fluffy body, pom-poms on the legs, and a curly black tail.

Exterior of a store named Palm Springs that is having an American built vacuum sale, with an American flag hanging outside and various vacuum cleaners displayed through the glass window.

The Trophy Room LA is proud to present two online solo exhibitions by New York-based photographer Dolly Faibyshev: Best in Show and Palm Springs. With her signature use of saturated color and a keen eye for irony, Faibyshev explores themes of performance, leisure, and the surreal theater of American life.

Best in Show pulls back the velvet curtain on the meticulously groomed, hyper-controlled world of competitive dog shows. Through her lens, Faibyshev captures not only the immaculately bred and styled dogs themselves, but the complex choreography of human ambition, obsession, and affection that underpins the spectacle.

With a palette rich in fluorescent lighting, artificial turf, and rhinestoned accessories, the series places viewers in surreal yet oddly familiar territory: a world where perfection is manufactured, judged, and adored. Her compositions highlight moments of vulnerability—handlers caught mid-prep, dogs staring into space, judges intensely scanning fur and form—creating a quietly poignant dialogue between control and chaos, performance and reality.

“I’m drawn to the theater of it all,” says Faibyshev. “It’s not just about dogs—it’s about how humans orchestrate beauty, how we craft narratives through grooming, trophies, and pageantry.”

In Palm Springs, Faibyshev trades the controlled chaos of the dog show for the sun-drenched stillness of California’s most iconic desert retreat. But beneath the dreamy pastel skies and pristine pools lies a more nuanced exploration of American escapism and the seductive power of surfaces.

Her photographs isolate and elevate the mid-century modern architecture, bold colors, and lush landscaping that define the visual language of Palm Springs. Yet the absence of people in many of the images creates a sense of eerie calm, a kind of suspended reality. Lounge chairs wait for no one. Pools ripple under the hot sun. The fantasy is alive—but hollow.

“Palm Springs is a place where image is everything,” Faibyshev explains. “But once you strip away the context, you see how fragile and constructed that image really is.”

More than a travelogue or aesthetic study, Palm Springs is a meditation on nostalgia, privilege, and the American dream’s glossy façade. In Faibyshev’s hands, the city becomes a canvas on which the tension between beauty and emptiness plays out.

About: Dolly Faibyshev is a self-taught photographer whose work explores themes of identity, artifice, and American culture through a distinct visual language of color and contrast. Her photographs have appeared in The New Yorker, Vogue, Time, and W Magazine, and have been exhibited in galleries and institutions across the U.S.

About The Trophy Room LA is a contemporary online gallery showcasing bold, thought-provoking work from emerging and established artists. Dedicated to curating exhibitions that challenge and celebrate contemporary visual culture, The Trophy Room LA provides a digital platform for accessible, immersive art experiences.

To inquire about any of the artwork in this exhibition, please email info@thetrophyroomla.com or Works can be viewed and purchased below