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Valery Klever
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Valery Klever (1939-2005)
- Valery Klever (1939–2005) was a prominent Russian "Non-Conformist" artist. A key participant in the underground art movement opposing Soviet censorship, Klever’s work often challenged political oppression, revising history, and suppression of artistic and religious freedom. He was involved in key exhibitions such as the 1974 Bulldozer Exhibition, where KGB forces destroyed much of the work, and the 1975 Gasonevski Exhibition in Leningrad. Klever’s art often depicted themes of surveillance, propaganda, and human suffering, using a wide range of media. His work was exhibited secretly, stored in friends' homes, and presented in underground galleries. Expelled from the Soviet Union in 1977, Klever moved to Vienna and later to the United States, continuing to create art that blended political and sensual themes. When the “iron curtain” fell Klever was able to return to Russia to retrieve many pieces of art that he wasn't able to take with him when he emigrated.
Notable Exhibitions:
1992 Group Exhibition, Juliette D’Adou Gallery, Paris, France
1977 Solo Exhibition, Krugel Gallery, Vienna, Austria
1975 Group Exhibition of Non-Conformist Art Gaze-Leningrad, USSR
1969 Solo Exhibition, Peter the Great Summer Garden Tea House, Leningrad, USSR
More about The Artist, as Written by his Family:
Valery Kleverov was born on June 28, 1939, in Engels, Russian Federation, Soviet Union, the son of a fighter test pilot in the Soviet Air Force. From a young age, he exhibited an independent, rebellious, and highly artistic temperament. Conscription into the Red Army at the standard age of eighteen became the tipping point in his struggle with the State. He lasted only a few months before making an unauthorized parachute jump over a forest, going permanently AWOL. During his brief stint in service to the Soviet authorities, he supplemented his income by selling drawings of nude females to his fellow conscripts.
After three weeks of hiding in the woods, he eventually made his way to Leningrad, dropping his first name and the “ov” from the end of his surname to become known as the underground artist “KLEVER.” He joined a close-knit group of young anti-authoritarian rebels, who eventually became recognized as the “Non-Conformists,” a small collective of free thinkers from Leningrad and Moscow who opposed State control of artistic expression and free thought. In the Soviet Union, not only was religion outlawed, but art, literature, music, and dance were all subject to heavy censorship and State oversight. Paintings with historical, religious, abstract, anti-Soviet, or erotic subjects were banned.
From 1966 to 1977, Klever established himself as one of the Non-Conformists most overtly critical of the Soviet State. Many of his paintings from this period are nothing short of heroic—visual essays exposing the evils of the national security/surveillance state, propaganda, manipulation of cultural symbols, suppression of artistic and religious freedom, revisionist history, and unfulfilled promises for the future. These works were created, stored, and occasionally exhibited at great risk to Klever, his associates, and even those who viewed them.
The paintings were hidden in makeshift walls, behind shelving units, and in the homes of trusted friends. Despite these precautions, the KGB discovered the existence of his work and began monitoring Klever closely. He faced surprise visits to his studio, harassment, and interrogation of his friends and family—all consequences of his defiance of Soviet control. During this time, Klever maintained a private exhibition within the apartment of Bob Kashilohov, part of a network that paralleled the Samizdat system for circulating banned literature.
To support himself and his family, Klever relied on private collectors in Leningrad and Moscow. He also attended classes at the University of Leningrad and the Art Academy, a challenging feat given his underground status as a fugitive conscript. Over time, his extensive body of work attracted a group of artists who studied and embraced Klever’s techniques.
Klever’s activism led to his arrest for participating in pivotal Non-Conformist exhibitions, including the infamous Bulldozer Exhibition in Moscow (1974), where the KGB bulldozed the artworks, and the Nevski Dom Exhibition in Leningrad (1975). These events marked key moments in the cultural resistance against Soviet oppression. The Bulldozer Exhibition resulted in arrests and deaths, including the suspicious death of organizer Yevgenni Rukhin in a studio fire. Klever, along with approximately seventy other artists, was arrested. However, international media outcry led to the artists’ release within a week.
The Nevski Dom Exhibition drew massive public attention, with lines stretching for thirty blocks to see the forbidden works during its two-week run. Klever exhibited a powerful collection of anti-Soviet paintings, leading to further KGB harassment and another arrest.
In 1977, Klever was expelled from the Soviet Union along with sixty-two other political dissidents. He and his family eventually settled in the United States, becoming citizens in 1982. Though he briefly attempted to return to the Soviet Union during the early days of Glasnost in 1986, he faced renewed persecution and returned permanently to the U.S. in 1987.
Throughout his life, Klever supported his family through his art, selling work privately to clients around the world and participating in exhibitions in the United States. In the realm of dissident art, Klever is an “unknown known”—acknowledged yet underappreciated. His courage and devotion to principle, as well as his love for his homeland and its people, are evident in his work, which serves as a passionate testament to the struggles of life under Soviet rule.
Klever’s art, which spans five decades, reflects a wide range of styles and themes. Political imagery—such as spying eyes, barbed wire, restraints, crosses, and the hammer and sickle—is prevalent in his works, often juxtaposed with sensual themes, including nude figures. Windows frequently appear as symbolic elements, representing what is, what was, and what could be.
Klever worked in various mediums, including oil, watercolor, ink, charcoal, and mixed media, often using whatever materials were available. His influences included Chagall, Picasso, Léger, Malevich, and Russian Futurists.
Valery Klever passed away on June 29, 2013, a day after his 74th birthday, following a battle with cancer.
• Preceding the artist’s signature is a symbol. In the words of his daughter, Karina, this is what it means: One mountain is my dad. The next mountain is my mom. The line across them is me, their daughter that binds them. The two dots above the mountain is my brother, Nik.
We would like to thank Karina and Nik for bringing their father’s story and legacy to Lost Art Salon.
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