Erich Lessing and Andrew Mezvinsky “The Jewish Museum on 52nd Street”
Austrian Cultural Forum NYC
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The Austrian Cultural Forum New York announces two exhibitions touring from the Jewish Museum Vienna: LESSING PRESENTS LESSING, works by noted photographer Erich Lessing, curated by his daughter Hannah Lessing; and A GOOD DAY, a multimedia installation by Andrew Mezvinsky based on Primo Levi’s account of survival in Auschwitz. Titled THE JEWISH MUSEUM VIENNA ON 52ND STREET, the two shows offer intimate insights into Austrian Jewish life past and present, serving as a platform for discussion, experience and confrontation. Lessing and Mezvinsky on display in one exhibition is a vital symbol of the ongoing, thriving cultural bridge building between Austria and the US.
With their work both artists embrace generations, cultures, and traditions, yet they claim very distinct artistic positions; Andrew Mezvinsky is a young Jewish-American artist who was born in Philadelphia. Having travelled the world, Mezvinsky five years ago chose the city of Vienna to be his centre of life and creative work. Erich Lessing fled Vienna for Palestine in 1939, leaving behind his mother and grandmother who were destined for a Nazi concentration camp. Lessing returned to Vienna in 1945 to become one of the most important Austrian and international photographers, as well as a photojournalist for the Associated Press in 1947, a full member of Magnum Photos and chronicler of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising against Soviet occupation.
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Schedule
from September 30, 2015 to January 03, 2016
Opening Reception on 2015-09-29 from 18:00 to 20:00