Fritz Hirschberger Exhibition

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art will present a new

exhibit, "Fritz Hirschberger: Sur-Rational Paintings and The Fifth Horseman" from Monday, Oct.

29 through Tuesday, Nov. 27. A lecture by Jodi Elowitz titled "After Such Knowledge: The Sur-

Rational Holocaust Paintings of Fritz Hirschberger" will be presented at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 29, in the

Kamerick Art Building, Room 111. An opening reception will follow.

Elowitz is outreach coordinator for the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of

Minnesota, organizer of this traveling exhibition. The exhibition and lecture were organized by the UNI

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education, and funded by the UNI College of Humanities, Art and

Sciences and the UNI Faculty Senate.

Fritz Hirschberger painted deeply layered, richly colored and angry evocations of Nazi barbarities.

Expelled from Germany in 1938, Hirschberger fought in the Polish Army against the Nazis, survived

a Soviet labor camp, and later fought against Rommel's forces in North Africa. Following the war, he

studied art in London and New York where he began developing his skills; however, it was only after

retirement in the 1980s that he began to truly concentrate on the horrors of World War II.

Drawing on European Renaissance, early 20th century German Expressionism, and medieval German

Moritat traditions, Hirschberger filled his "Sur-Rational" and "Fifth Horseman" paintings with powerful

and iconic imagery, many of which he paired with texts drawn from the works of Sylvia Plath, Alice

Rogoff, and the testimonies of Holocaust survivors.

The UNI Gallery of Art will continue to present the UNI Permanent Art Collection exhibition

titled "Masters at Mid-Century," which will run through Dec. 15.

All events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through

Thursday; noon to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday and by appointment.