ICMGLT Honorary Board Member Mr. Fred Terna opened a new solo exhibition at the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York please see details below.
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, the 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 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 the 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 New York, NY.
