55. January 31 - March 31, 2016

Waiting for God: Works on Paper  Artist: Kezia Lechner

"Waiting for God" is an important and moving series of seventeen original works centered around the Holocaust experience of Kezia's family, also inspired by Elie Weisel's "Night".

Kezia Lechner's father escaped Nazi Germany at age 39. He spoke little of his past. Drawn by a desire to explore her own connection to the Holocaust, the artist conducted her own research. The imagery in these paintings was inspired by photographs taken during the Holocaust, and by Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, an account of his life as an adolescent in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. 

Lechner's work is dedicated to Sophie and Gustav Lechner, her grandparents.  Unable to obtain a visa to leave Germany, they vanished in 1941, never to be heard from again. In 2015, the works in this display were presented by the artist to the Temple Judea Museum for its permanent collection.

NOTE: This exhibition also included other Holocaust related objects from the museum's collection.

Visit www.OpenintoChange.com to see more of Kezia Lechner's work.