Free activities and events in New York City

Add your event
Log In / Sign Up

Exhibition Opening: Fred Terna — Flame Paintings

Published: October 26, 2022; Author: Julia Sonrisa

 November 1, 2022    06:00 PM-08:00 PM EDT

Exhibition Opening: Fred Terna — Flame Paintings

The Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York is pleased to present Flame Paintings, a solo exhibition of Fred Terna’s “Flame” paintings from the 1980s to more recent works. Join us for the exhibition opening on November 1, 2022, at 6 PM in the Bohemian National Hall. Due to the limited space, an RSVP is required to attend the exhibition opening.

The depiction of flames has been a recurring theme in Terna’s practice, rendered in deep hues and unexpected texture, achieved through the use of aggregate mixed into the paint. These semi-abstract paintings reflect an artist in constant reflection, living with images of the past.

The show will be on view from November 1- December 9, 2022, at the Czech Center Gallery in the Bohemian National Hall.

The exhibition is curated by Daniel Terna.

Organized by the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York and the Czech Center New York in collaboration with the Václav Havel Library Foundation. The event is sponsored by KBC Bank.

Bio:

Fred Terna (b. 1923) is a Holocaust survivor and painter living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Terna was born in Vienna and lived in Prague from 1926-1940. From 1941-1945, he was an inmate in Nazi concentration camps, among them Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Dachau. Terna moved to Paris in 1946 and informally studied at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and the Academie Julien, where he was inspired by the work of the Cubists and post-Impressionists.

After eventually settling in New York in 1952, Terna elaborated on the prevailing modes of Abstract Expressionism with a personal style that infused textural elements into his compositions. Using folded canvas, sand, and pebbles, Terna sought to activate the tactile senses, layering fields of depth and creating visual tricks. Terna’s canvases seek to address the psychological space of trauma, often incorporating the charged symbols of chimneys and ash to abstract effect.

Terna has lectured extensively and exhibited his work in several solo and group shows. His work is included in a variety of private and public collections including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Washington, DC); Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC); The Albertina Collection (Vienna, AT); The Ghetto Fighters Museum (Israel); and the Yad Vashem Museum (Israel). Recent solo shows took place at 321 Gallery (2018, Brooklyn, NY), St. Francis College (2017, Brooklyn, NY), and the Museum of Arts and Culture at New Rochelle High School (2017, New Rochelle, NY). 321 Gallery (Brooklyn, NY) presented Terna’s work at the 2016 NADA New York art fair and he has exhibited in group shows at Jack Barrett (2019) and the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (2017), both in New York, NY.

Time: 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM EDT

Free!

Registration

Share it:

List of all free exhibitions
^