Whisper by Peter Zelle

Selected Works

Peter Zelle, Minnesota
March 11–April 22, 2010
Reception: Thursday, March 11 from 6–8 pm

Through the use of colored glass and light, Zelle’s work invites the viewer to connect to his art on an emotional and spiritual level. Various colors, forms and archetypes are used to create entry points of dialogue and contemplation about ones’ personal place and space. “The creative process should be a flow, open and living. Living is the greatest art of all and out of that comes the art product.” -Ed Oates, Zelle’s Professor from Rhode Island School of Design.

Related Events:
ARTIST RECEPTION: THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 6-8 PM
Wine tasting from 6-6:30 pm followed by a reception and gallery tour by artist Peter Zelle. Learn about Kosher wine, the only liquid which has its own special blessing in Jewish tradition, and then taste some just in time for Passover. Art and wine will delight the senses! Fee $5 for wine tasting only. No reservations necessary.

FILM: STUMBLING STONES: SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2 PM
St umbling St ones/Germ any/2007/73 min.
Stumbling Stones is a story about the largest decentralized memorial in the world. The conceptual artist
Gunter Demnig has embedded brass-plated stones with 17,000 names of forgotten Nazi victims into the
concrete pavements in European countries. For a complete synopsis, visit www.sabesjcc.org. In honor of
Yom HaShoah—Holocaust Remembrance Day—the Sabes Foundation Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival will
present this film in conjunction with these exhibits. Tickets ($9) can be purchased at Sabes JCC Box Office:
952.381.3499 after March 5.

The Lost Synagogues of Europe
Featuring work by New York artist Andrea Strongwater
March 11–April 20, 2010

Strongwater has painted between nearly one hundred of the thousands of synagogues that were destroyed by the Nazis. This exhibit will provide an opportunity to learn about and appreciate the importance of these buildings and their congregations.

Through Strongwater’s paintings, she brings synagogue buildings back to some form of life. Referencing old, grainy, black and white photos, she recreates these synagogues in their full glory. “My goal is to convey, in my paintings, the beauty, solidity and cultural importance of the old synagogues to the world today,” states Strongwater.

All of the synagogues she paints, with the exception of a few that were destroyed by bombings were meant to be totally erased from the earth. Once the synagogues were burned or blown apart, the Jewish community was often levied a fee for the removal of the debris. Sometimes they were forced to remove the debris themselves, by hand. The synagogues she has painted and continue to paint have left no physical record other than photos and occasional memorial plaques. Strongwater’s paintings represent a small, but important, selection of the thousands of synagogues destroyed during the Third Reich.