Russian sculptor Grigory Pototsky was born in 1954 in the Kurgan region and lives in Moscow, but his heart belongs to Malaysia.
In 1977, he graduated from the State Institute of the Arts in Odessa (Faculty of Sculpture), and from the Kishinev State University (Faculty of History) in 1986. He is a member of the International Informatization Academy, corresponding member of the Pedagogical Academy, member of the International Union of Artists at Unesco and member of the (now dissolved) Union of Artists of the USSR.
Since 1985, Pototsky participated in more than 100 solo exhibitions in Russia and abroad. The sculptor has created a gallery of bronze portraits of outstanding contemporary figures and they include: M. Schell, S. Boldwin, I. Smoktunovsky, Maurice Druon, Tonino Guerra, Milorad Pavich, H.C. Andersen, A. Solzhenitsin, the spiritual leader of all Mongols Bogdogegen IX, Pierre Cardin, Emir Kusturitsa and Sindo Kaneto. Pototsky has more than 130 monuments already erected around the world, including four in Malaysia.
He came to Malaysia for the first time in 2014, to participate in an art exhibition at Daiichi Modern Art Gallery in Sungai Petani at the invitation of Malaysian patron of the arts and founder and curator of the gallery, Datuk Tai Keik Hock, and fell in love with the country at first sight.
Later, he shared his impressions with me: "The road from Kuala Lumpur to Sungai Petani was forever imprinted in my memory. The feeling was that as if in front of you there was a paradise of landscapes, revived from the canvasses of great artists. And, of course, hospitality."
His participation was very successful and he even managed to leave a memorable mark there: a small Monument to Kindness, one of 30 such works he has erected all over the world, which takes the shape of a dandelion formed from open palms and eyes.
The Russian businessman, Arkady Pekarevsky, plans to instal this symbol of peace and kindness at the airports of 100 cities of the world in 10 years. His belief is: "Where there is kindness, there are no boundaries."
Since then, Pototsky visited Malaysia several times. One was on Feb 28, 2015, to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Russian poet M.Y. Lermontov, which coincided with the Year of Literature. A monument to the poet, created by Pototsky and sponsored by Tai, was unveiled in Kuala Lumpur at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture.
The main guest, charge d'affaires of Russia in Malaysia Andrei Ovcharenko, said in his speech that the event was vital for the development of cultural ties between the two countries.
Malaysian poet Rahimidin Zahari called the monument a bridge of friendship between the two nations and hoped that it would open the door for the works of Lermontov to win over the hearts of Malaysians.
At the opening ceremony of the monument, poems of the great poet were recited in Russian, English and Bahasa Malaysia. And these immortal lines flew over Kuala Lumpur:
The sail is whitening alone
In blue obscurity of sea:
What did it leave in country own?
What does it want so far to see.
The wind is strong, the mast is creaking,
The wave is playing with the wave...
But not a fortune is it seeking,
Nor from this fortune is its way.
By it a stream is bright as azure,
By beams of sun it's warmed and blessed
But it is seeking gales as treasure
As if the tempests give a rest.
Later, Pototsky presented to the National Visual Arts Gallery the sculpture "Islam is peace" and a bust of Russian traveller, ethnographer and anthropologist N.N. Miklukho-Maclay (1846-1888) who researched the Malay Peninsula and Java in the 1870s.
It was a gift of Russia to Malaysia.
Pototsky had this to say: "Malaysia is a young state with a bright future that invests huge amounts of money in education and culture. The symposium, the master class I gave at the National Gallery, was one of the most inspirational moments of my life".
The writer, writing from Moscow, is a former lecturer of Universiti Malaya