“Fabric of Survival: Images of the Art of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz” will be the next exhibition at the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center, opening on November 3, 2016 and remaining on view until November 30, 2016.
In 1977, at the age of fifty, Esther Nisenthal Krinitz began creating works of fabric art representing her and her younger sister’s survival–fleeing from their Polish village and posing as Catholic farm girls. Trained as a seamstress but with no formal training in art, Esther Nisenthal Krinitz created remarkable images with folk art realism and meticulously stitched narrative text beneath each picture.
HMLC curator Daniel Reich notes that “While this exhibit consists of excellent photographic reproductions rather than the fabric panels, they have remarkable textural and 3-dimensional details—visitors are often amazed that they are not actual textiles. The strong, vivid colors, intuitive sense of composition and autobiographical expression are clearly evident and extremely powerful.”
At 7:00 pm, the film Through the Eye of the Needle: The Art of Esther Nisenthal Krinitz will be screened. Bernice Steinhardt, daughter of the artist and Executive Producer of the film, will be on hand to give remarks about her mother’s relationship to the art and making the film. Ms. Steinhardt, together with her sister Helene McQuade, founded the non-profit Art and Remembrance in 2003 and has worked tirelessly sharing her mother’s art and story. She is co-author (with her mother, posthumously) of Memories of Survival.
A dessert reception will follow the presentation; dietary laws observed. This event is free and open to the public but seating is limited and reservations are required. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Andrew Goldfeder at 314-442-3711 or AGoldfeder@JFedSTL.org.
This exhibition and related programming is generously supported by Hannah and Lawrence Langsam and the Regional Arts Commission.