Russian Country Scene Landscape by Klever

Description

Wonderful country scene of woman feeding chickens in Russian countryside by Valery Kleverov (A.A. Kaebep) (Klever) (Russian, 20th Century), dated, … more Wonderful country scene of woman feeding chickens in Russian countryside by Valery Kleverov (A.A. Kaebep) (Klever) (Russian, 20th Century), dated, 1971. Signed and dated lower right corner "AA Kaebep '71". Unframed. Condition: professionally cleaned with one tear repaired and inpainted (see photos). Image size: 24"H x 38"W.

(translated form Russian) Klever worked in a wide range of styles in a remarkable career that spanned five decades. He painted impressionist landscapes to completely abstract mixed-media constructions and most everything in between, working in oil, watercolor, ink, charcoal, generally whatever was available to paint on or with. The most obvious modern influences are Chagall, Picasso, Leger, Malevich, and various Russian Futurists.
Klever passed away after a battle with cancer the day after his 74th birthday in 2013.


Valery Kleverov was born in Engels, Russian Federation, Soviet Union June 28, 1939 the son of a fighter test pilot in the Soviet Air Force. He exhibited an independent, rebellious, and highly artistic temperament from a young age. Conscription into the Red Army at the standard age of (18) was first and last straw in the young artist’s battle with the State, he lasted only a few months before making an unauthorized parachute jump over a forest to go permanently AWOL. In his brief stint in service of the Soviet authority he had supplemented his income by selling sexy drawings of nude females to his fellow conscripts.
After 3 weeks hiding in the woods, he eventually made his way to Leningrad, dropped his first name and the “ov” from the end of his name and began his life as the underground artist known as “KLEVER”. He fell in with a close-knit group of young anti-authoritarian rebels who eventually became known to the world as the “Non-Conformists”, a small gang of free thinkers mainly from Leningrad and Moscow who rebelled against State control of artistic expression and of free thought. In the Soviet Union, not only religion was outlawed - art, literature, music and dance were all subject to heavy censorship and state oversight. Among paintings historical, religious, abstract, anti-Soviet and erotic subjects were all against the law.
From 1966 to 1977 Klever made a reputation for himself as one of the non-conformists most overtly critical of the Soviet state. Many of his paintings from this period can be described as nothing less than heroic- they are truly remarkable visual essays on the evils of the national security/surveillance state, propaganda and manipulation of cultural symbols, suppression of artistic and religious freedom, revisionist history, and unfilled promises for the future. All of them were painted stored and exhibited not only at great risk to the artist and his associates, but also to anybody who sought to view them.
The paintings were stashed in make-shift walls, behind shelving units and at trustworthy friends’ houses. In spite of the secrecy, the KGB discovered the existence of these pieces and began to follow Klever’s every move. There were surprise visits to his studio, harassment wherever he went, friends and family being questioned, all a direct result of his determination to express himself artistically against Soviet control. From this time forward Klever had an exhibit which was open for viewing at all times inside the apartment of Bob Kashilohov as part of a network which paralleled the Samizdat network for sharing of forbidden literature.
During this period Klever supported himself and his family to private collectors in Leningrad and Moscow. He also attended classes at University of Leningrad and at the Art Academy, a process much complicated by his underground status as a runaway conscript. Due to the sheer volume of his works and collections, over time, Klever gathered a group of artists who studied Klever’s artistic approaches and the Klever style was born. less