Houston Architectural Ballade
by Valentin L. Gertsman

In Houston Architectural Ballade, surgeon and photographer Dr. Valentin Gertsman shows us images of Houston that dazzle, amaze, disturb, and exalt. They are the images that only a surgeon turned artist could see and create – composite photos that illustrate the electric, pulsing life that exists in the sleek angles, razor-sharp edges, and reflective surfaces of Houston's architecture and outdoor sculptures.  

Gertsman was born in Moscow in 1925. At age 17 he joined the Red Army and the fight against the Fascists during the terrible and unforgettable siege of Leningrad. After the war he trained as a doctor and a surgeon. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1974, settled in Houston, and soon after began creating sculptures and photos. His first professional exhibition was held in 1981. Since then, his photographs have been included in shows, publications, museums, and private collections throughout the world.

It is fitting, and poignant, that immediately prior to the publication of the first published anthology of his work, a piece of his work was acquired by The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia (formerly Leningrad). The city Valentin Gertsman once defended as a soldier now honors him as an artist.

Houston Architectural Ballade is a tribute to Houston, dynamic and constantly growing – the world energy capital, a center of medicine, the cradle of space exploration, and forever a frontier. Gertsman's Houston is a city that reached the 21st century years ago.

Houston Architectural Ballade was published with assistance from the Houston Architecture Foundation and underwriting support from the following:

• Reliant Energy
• The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Linbeck Construction Corporation
• BMC Software
• The Chase Private Bank
• Continental Airlines
• Crescent Real Estate Equities, Ltd.
• Houston Cellular
• Kino Studio, Inc.
• Texaco
• Stephen E. Guilliams, M.D.
• Spring Branch Medical Center
• Brown & Root, a Halliburton Company
• Gerald H. Dubin
• Houston chapter of Associated General Contractors
• Morris Architects
• Neider Financial Consultants, Inc.
• Ann Wright & Dan Curtis

Marketing efforts for Ballade began with a City Hall reception hosted by principal underwriter Reliant Energy in December of 1999.

ISBN #:	0-9645493-1-X
LCCN #:	99-66675
Retail Price:	$65.00
Pages:	128
Photographs:	104
Publication Date:	January 2000
Library Binding, Cloth Cover, French-Fold Jacket