Nonequilibrium gradient dynamics of $d$-dimensional particle systems is investigated. The interaction is given by a superstable pair potential of finite range. Solutions are constructed in the well-defined set of locally finite configurations with a logarithmic order of energy fluctuations. If the system is deterministic and $d \leq 2$, then singular potentials are also allowed. For stochastic models with a smooth interaction we need $d \leq 4$. In order to develop some prerequisites for the theory of hydrodynamical fluctuations in equilibrium, we investigate smoothness of the Markov semigroup and describe some properties of its generator.