55. January 31 - March 31, 2016

Waiting for God A Collection of Works on Mixed Media on paper

Artist: Kezia Renée Lechner

"Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire." – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

"I have dedicated this body of work to Sophie and Gustav Lechner, my grandparents, who were born in the mid 1800s in the towns of Kolomaya and Tysmenytsya near the Carpathian Mountains in Galicia, which is now part of the Ukraine.  Unable to obtain a visa after my father and two siblings migrated to the United States, they were deported from Germany to Poland in 1938, where they lived with my grandfather's sister. Picked up by the Germans in 1941, they vanished, never to be heard from again.

The imagery in this work 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. I was also drawn by a desire to explore my own connection to this event.

My father escaped Nazi Germany at age 39. He spoke little of his past. I carried his silence, unwittingly, like a dark secret. Years later, the weight of that secret lifted when these images began to pour out of me. The silence was finally broken.

I continue to ask questions. Whom might I have been? What would I have chosen? Yet, looking into the past is a vain endeavor, unless it brings clarity to the present, and possibility to the future.

Can we truly see ourselves reflected in the eyes of our neighbor? What small, or grand act, could each of us take today if love is the torch that will light the world?" Kezia Renee Lechner      

Waiting for God website:    http://heartofahealer.com/wfg/ 

ARTIST'S NOTE:

Waiting for God, Night Procession 1 and 11, Handful of Bread, were inspired by the book Night - Deported, Liberation, Liberation Funeral, Blechhammer, Officials, Delegation, Crows, Burning and Cartload were all inspired by photos. Kezia Lechner

CURATOR'S STATEMENT:
Kezia Renee Lechner

I met Kezia in the spring of 2015 when she contacted the Temple Judea

Museum (TJM) to inquire as to whether the museum might be interested in a gift of her work. Knowing nothing about her, I was, nevertheless, intrigued when she briefly told me her family story and about Waiting for God, her Holocaust series. I asked her to send me some images by email. 

What I saw took my breath away and I knew immediately I had to see this work in person and meet the artist. One look at the work and it was obvious that here was an artist with superior mastery over her materials and technique. Her graphic brushstrokes are vibrant and emotionally alive. Kezia's wordless images are clearly understood. Though she is soft spoken in person, her images pack a wallop.

Kezia Renée Lechner is an artist and energy healer, who now lives in North Carolina. As an artist, she has worked with people of all ages, within many diverse communities. She has facilitated in hospitals, Art Centers, Senior Centers, Adult Day Care Facilities, as well as in numerous schools, both public and private. As a Reiki Master, and intuitive energy healer, she maintains a private practice. Personally, I am very proud that Kezia chose TJM as the repository for this important work and that we can share it with our community. ~ Rita Rosen Poley, director & curator

© 2012 Kezia Renée Lechner Contact The Artist

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.