Exhibition of Lev Tyurin's Works Rescued from Waste Paper

The first exhibition of works by Volgograd artist Lev Tyurin will be held in the city from February 2 to 18. The exhibition will feature about 200 works that activists saved from being turned in as waste paper.

Lev Tyurin was born on January 31, 1938, in Stalingrad on Kozlovskaya Street. His father worked at the Barrikady factory, and his mother worked as a draftsman. The artist«s childhood coincided with the war years, and the horrors he experienced later found reflection in his work.

Tyurin studied at the Rostov Art School named after Grekov and the Ukrainian Polygraphic Institute named after Fedorov in Lviv. He skillfully worked in linocut, watercolor, and oil techniques, dedicating many paintings to wartime and post-war Stalingrad.

The artist also recounted his memories in the book «Pictures of My Stalingrad Childhood,» which was awarded the international «Imperial Culture - 2018» prize. However, during his lifetime, Tyurin was not accepted into the Union of Artists and remained in the shadows.

After the author«s death in 2022, his legacy almost perished. As Galina Yegorova from the association »Children of Wartime Stalingrad« reported, Tyurin»s nephew, having inherited the apartment, collected all the paintings in a black trash bag and intended to turn them in as waste paper. «I found out about this and asked him: »Well, how much will you get for them if you turn them in?« He answered: »6,000 rubles (about $67 at current rates).« I gave him these 6,000 rubles and took the paintings. From this waste paper, we retrieved about 2,000 watercolors and graphic works,» Yegorova said.

Volunteers used donations to restore and frame part of the rescued works. «Framing each painting costs about 4,000–5,000 rubles (about $44–$56 at current rates). Many artists responded to take part in the restoration. We have prepared 100 canvases for the exhibition,» noted Galina Yegorova. According to her, these works reflect peaceful scenes, memories of childhood, and post-war Stalingrad.

The exhibition organizers have not yet received support from city or regional authorities. The Ministry of Culture promised to help with placing the collection in the future Cultural Center in the Univermag department store, which will open by 2027. «But for now, we will preserve the paintings on our own in order to transfer them all there,» Yegorova added.

The opening of the exhibition will take place on February 2 at 1 p.m. at the exhibition hall at 6 Krasnoznamenskaya Street. The event is timed to the 83rd anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad.