Free realism with the prefix "social"

Today we talk about artists Helium Korzheve. Born in 1925 in the family of architect Mikhail Korzhev. Mom told him that they wanted to call the Tractor, but it was very hot and called Helium.
Helium - with the translation of the sun god.
The artist Geliy Korzhev headed the Union of Artists, but refused to pay, was awarded the Order of Lenin, but never belonged to the party, did not use an office car, did not hold personal exhibitions.
Against the background of the fact that he was always present at the presidium of the Central Committee, he managed to remain an independent artist and never, on the instructions of the party, wrote. Only once, long and painfully developed the image of the leader of the proletariat and the gray-haired blind man. The endless search for composition, solutions, doubts led to the fact that the sketches were seen on the committee and decided to transfer the order to another artist. And the work "Conversation" still saw the light after 10 years, for which he received the state award.
The artist positioned his style of realism with the prefix "social" not as socialist, but as social. Many, of course, were irritated by his originality and creativity. The main thing for him is freedom of opinion. His heroes are people capable of performing an act, extraordinary personalities, where a person is always presented in close-up.
“No, the lyrics are not peculiar to me. I do not want to write unhappy, pathetic people. I am interested in those people who resist. Persons who should be respected for their posture, their extraordinary resilience ", - the position of Helium Korzheva.
In his paintings more represented the philosophical views, he creates intellectual work, abandoning beauty in the usual sense. Where painting becomes a tool to achieve the goal - an appeal to humanity, a warning.
He does not embellish life, as many artists of social realism do, lacquering reality. His realism is more social, not socialist, where the “harsh spirit” is its hallmark.
The money for Korzhev did not matter much, was very reluctant to sell his paintings, looking at the buyer for a long time and very often refused the deal for inexplicable reasons.
"The essence of the method of realism is the continuous struggle of the artist with a lie", - his main postulate. And with a lie, Helium Korzhev fought around himself and within himself. Only the truth came to the canvas, of course, as he saw it.
The artist, on his canvases - poor, exhausted, hungry and suffering people who are tired of hard work.
He tried to convey both the ideals and the flaws of his time.
We also get acquainted with the works of the artist who left a mark on our art and became part of it.
His works are in collections of the Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Samara Art Museum, and private collections throughout the world.