Translated from German. To see the text in language of the original, click here.

The Stuttgart newspaper 65

From Stuttgart, page 22

Friday, 19 March,  1982

Guenther Petzold

The Russian immigrant goes on street

Advertising of pictures of the father

The respect for the father is not anything unusual. Young Russian geophysicist Dr. Valery Valius who has emigrated almost 4 years ago from Soviet Union and lives 2 years in Stuttgart  is similar to many young men of other people. Less often already, that the respect for the father moves the son on street as happens at Dr. Valius. Why he does it, the Russian scientist told recently in foot zone Kronprinzstrasse where on Saturday he again has opened "street gallery" for presentation  pictures of his father, who died in 1972.

The father, Moscow book illustrator Pjotr Adamovich Valius, is passionate painted at leisure as the son recollects, secretly and, certainly, not in officially approved style of "socialist realism", but "suspicious" surealistic and  absolutely abstract. Therefore his works could not show publicly. However, after death of the father the son together with his mother in a cellar of fatherly studio have arranged an exhibition on which pictures as informally as they have been written showed. Almost 50 000 visitors - friends spoke about it to friends, etc.

And those came secretly on this exhibition before the police has opened a door of studio. But informed shortly before it the son has taken away in due time pictures from a studio, and later in Federal republic - he has received here the scientific grant and has taken them with himself.

As the Russian immigrant in Federal republic he has got however, sad experience, that also here nobody wished to expose pictures of his father. Museums have given up as hopeless: they occupied for years. And private galleries have not been interested in these works. The Russian scientist does not know, whether pictures correspond  to requirements to art of the West; he only is convinced: „Pictures exist not to stand with face to a wall in a cellar; they need to be shown".

Dr. Valius has decided to move in his free time from city to city and - with the official sanction, certainly - to show pictures on the street to pedestrians. And he has enough, if he can speak with people about these pictures.