Rachel Stern Archives - Fritz Ascher Society

Apr 29, 2025

2024 – Jutta Götzmann and Rachel Stern (Eds.)
Liebe und Verrat. Der Expressionist Fritz Ascher aus New Yorker Privatsammlungen

Rachel Stern2025-04-29T13:05:45-04:00April 29th, 2025|Selected Publications|Comments Off on 2024 – Jutta Götzmann and Rachel Stern (Eds.)
Liebe und Verrat. Der Expressionist Fritz Ascher aus New Yorker Privatsammlungen

Der spätexpressionistische Künstler Fritz Ascher (1893–1970), von dem sich heute wichtige Werkbestände in New Yorker Privatsammlungen befinden, überlebte zwei Weltkriege und die Verfolgung durch die Nationalsozialisten. Gemeinsam mit der Fritz Ascher Society für verfolgte, verfemte und verbotene Kunst, New York, präsentiert das Augustinermuseum in Freiburg erstmals sein Frühwerk in einer konzentrierten Auswahl graphischer Arbeiten. Mythologische und literarische, historische und biblische Themen zeigen die Spannbreite von Aschers Interessen. Stets ist er ein genauer Beobachter seiner Zeit. Seit 1916 befasst er sich in intimen Zeichnungen mit den Themen Liebe und Verrat. Die Urkatastrophe des Ersten Weltkrieges und die revolutionären Unruhen in Berlin führen ihn zu christlich-spirituellen Inhalten, die er radikal neu interpretiert. Ascher kreiert mit seiner einzigartigen künstlerischen Stimme expressive Werke [...]

Apr 29, 2025

2024 – Ori Z Soltes and Rachel Stern (Eds.)
WELCOMING THE STRANGER:
ABRAHAMIC HOSPITALITY AND CONTEMPORARY IMPLICATIONS
Foreword by Endy Moraes

Rachel Stern2025-04-29T12:29:58-04:00April 29th, 2025|Selected Publications|Comments Off on 2024 – Ori Z Soltes and Rachel Stern (Eds.)
WELCOMING THE STRANGER:
ABRAHAMIC HOSPITALITY AND CONTEMPORARY IMPLICATIONS
Foreword by Endy Moraes

Beginning with the story of Abraham’s hospitality to the three strangers described in Genesis 18, this volume explores both the theological evolution in and beyond the Abrahamic traditions of the principle of “welcoming the stranger,” and its on-the-ground application from India to Germany in the past to America in the present. One of the signal moments in the narrative of the biblical Abraham is his insistent and enthusiastic reception of three strangers. That moment is a beginning point of inspiration for all three Abrahamic traditions as they evolve and develop the details of their respective teachings. On the one hand, welcoming the stranger by remembering “that you were strangers in the land of Egypt” is enjoined upon the ancient [...]

Apr 29, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter MAY 2025

Rachel Stern2025-04-29T10:30:15-04:00April 29th, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter MAY 2025

Dear Friends, May is the month during which we celebrate the fifth anniversary of our virtual event series "Flight or Fight. stories of artists under repression." You can now find about 150 artist videos on our YouTube channel @fritzaschersociety! Throughout this month, we ask you to donate to the Fritz Ascher Society to enable us to continue this important virtual program, which brings artists to a global audience, who are not widely known because they were persecuted or murdered by the German Nazis. We need to raise $10,000.00 to ensure the continuation of this program. And I am happy to announce that every donation made this month will be matched dollar-for-dollar until we reach that amount, so please: [...]

Apr 2, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter APRIL 2025

Rachel Stern2025-04-29T10:31:47-04:00April 2nd, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter APRIL 2025

Dear Friends, Spring is here, with the energy of renewal and growth and blossoming trees, plants and flowers. Holidays abound, and we honor Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. We have organized fabulous virtual events for you, but first I have a story with a happy ending for you, at least for the art: Pretty exactly a year ago, the reporter and writer Julie Zigoris told the story of artwork that was found on a park bench in San Francisco’s Crane Cove Park in 2022. City employees had rescued the art and found the majority of the artworks to be by the Jewish painter Ary Arcadie Lochakov (1892-1941), a member of the famed School of Paris group that includes [...]

Mar 7, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter MARCH 2025

Rachel Stern2025-04-29T10:32:39-04:00March 7th, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter MARCH 2025

Dear Friends, During these breathtakingly turbulent times, we prepared very diverse online programs for you: we start this month by looking back at US history by discussing immigrant American artist Ben Shahn, then focus on the state of Nazi era art restitution by presenting the much disputed collection of the Jewish art dealer Alfred Flechtheim, and conclude the month with a panel discussion of curator Ori Z Soltes, poet Rabbi Ronnie Cahana, and photographer Kitra Cahana about our Portland (OR) exhibition Survival and Intimations of Immortality: The Art of Alice Lok Cahana, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana, and Kitra Cahana, which is on view until May 25. First we present the American artist, Social Realist painter, and child refugee from Tzarist-governed [...]

Feb 12, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter FEBRUARY 2025 with Signs and Wonders

Rachel Stern2025-02-12T07:45:33-05:00February 12th, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter FEBRUARY 2025 with Signs and Wonders

Dear Friends, February is a busy month with many interesting events in our orbit, starting with two film screenings at the JCC Manhattan, continuing with a virtual conversation with author Melvin Bukiet and a presentation of Fritz Ascher's art, and two exhibitions, of which one is closing in early March in Germany, and one just opened in Portland, Oregon. Please join us at the JCC Manhattan for two important film screenings: Tuesday, February 4, 7:00PM ET The Return from the Other Planet, 2023 Screening followed by Q+A with director Assaf Lapid Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, New York 20% off tickets with code fritz2025 Tuesday, February 11, [...]

Jan 20, 2025

Opening reception
SURVIVAL AND INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY:
The Arts of Alice Lok Cahana, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana and Kitra Cahana
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Portland, Oregon

Rachel Stern2025-01-27T07:31:46-05:00January 20th, 2025|Events, Past Events|Comments Off on Opening reception
SURVIVAL AND INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY:
The Arts of Alice Lok Cahana, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana and Kitra Cahana
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Portland, Oregon

Please join us for the opening event! Survival and Intimations of Immortality: The Art of Alice Lok Cahana, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana, and Kitra Cahana is a unique and powerful exhibition that explores the role of art and creativity, bringing the past into the present by focusing on three generations of artists from the same family. Alice Lok Cahana (1929-2017) was a Holocaust survivor who pledged she would become an artist if she survived the war. Rabbi Ronnie Cahana, Alice’s oldest son, is a poet and survivor of a major stroke. Kitra Cahana, Ronnie’s daughter, is a filmmaker and photographer. This exhibition reveals how the tragedy of the Holocaust impacted multiple generations of a family and how each member transformed [...]

Jan 2, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter JANUARY 2025

Rachel Stern2025-01-09T14:06:25-05:00January 2nd, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter JANUARY 2025

Dear Friends, Happy 2025! An eventful month lies ahead. First of all, I am very excited to announce that you now can experience our website in multiple languages - try it out: https://fritzaschersociety.org/. Here at the Fritz Ascher Society, we are starting the year with two virtual talks that are connected to exhibitions - one in London and one here in New York: WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 12:00PM EST FRED KORMIS (1894-1986)– SCULPTING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY PRESENTATION BY BARBARA WARNOCK, LONDON (ENGLAND) REGISTER HERE Fred Kormis, Two Heads, c. 1930s © Wiener Holocaust Library Collections Sculptor and printmaker Fred Kormis (1894-1986) was born into an Austrian and German-Jewish family in Frankfurt, Germany, was wounded fighting [...]

Dec 24, 2024

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY wishing you joyful holidays

Rachel Stern2025-01-09T13:35:50-05:00December 24th, 2024|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY wishing you joyful holidays

Dear Friends, We wish you Happy Holidays with Mayer Kirshenblatt's painting Hanukkah, in which he remembers celebrating the holiday with his family in Opatów (Apt) in the 1920s. "This is Hanukkah at home with my father, mother, and brothers. We lit the candles and sang Maoz tsur (Rock of Ages). I painted a few notes to indicate that we were singing. It was a special day for us because we were let out of school early. Father gave me Hanukkah gelt, a few pennies for a present, in honor of the holiday. Mother cooked latkes, potato pancakes, which are very delicious. She grated raw potatoes, added eggs, and flour and fried the pancakes in shmalts, [...]

Dec 4, 2024

Love, Betrayal and Ascher’s Unpainted Pictures
Tour by Exhibition Curator Jutta Götzmann
Haus der Graphischen Sammlung, Freiburg (Germany)

Rachel Stern2024-12-18T05:55:27-05:00December 4th, 2024|Events, Lectures, Past Events|Comments Off on Love, Betrayal and Ascher’s Unpainted Pictures
Tour by Exhibition Curator Jutta Götzmann
Haus der Graphischen Sammlung, Freiburg (Germany)

Jutta Götzmann, exhibition curator of "Love and Betrayal," presents the artist Fritz Ascher (1893-1970) during a tour. In addition to early charcoal, graphite and ink drawings, colorful gouaches are fascinating. Poems that are considered his "unpainted pictures" and were created in secret during the National Socialist era complement the exhibition. BUY TICKETS HERE The Fritz Ascher Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Your donation is fully tax deductible. YOUR SUPPORT MAKES OUR WORK POSSIBLE. THANK YOU. DONATE HERE

Nov 26, 2024

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter DECEMBER 2024

Rachel Stern2024-12-12T19:30:39-05:00November 26th, 2024|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter DECEMBER 2024

Dear Friends, What a whirlwind of a month this was, with the opening of the important new Fritz Ascher exhibition, "Love and Betrayal - The Expressionist Fritz Ascher from New York Private Collections" at the House of the Graphic Collection, Augustinermuseum in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany). This is the first exhibition that focusses on works on paper created by Fritz Ascher before 1933. In this most immediate and intimate medium, we discover the cheerful and thoughtful artist who was part of the avant-garde in what was then the most exciting cultural city in the world and who spontaneously recorded his thoughts, ideas and experiences on paper, or worked on pictorial themes or compositions. The exhibition is on view [...]

Nov 22, 2024

SURVIVAL AND INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY:
The Arts of Alice Lok Cahana, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana and Kitra Cahana
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Portland, Oregon

Rachel Stern2025-04-29T12:05:23-04:00November 22nd, 2024|Exhibitions|Comments Off on SURVIVAL AND INTIMATIONS OF IMMORTALITY:
The Arts of Alice Lok Cahana, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana and Kitra Cahana
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Portland, Oregon

Survival and Intimations of Immortality: The Art of Alice Lok Cahana, Rabbi Ronnie Cahana, and Kitra Cahana is a unique and powerful exhibition that explores the role of art and creativity, bringing the past into the present by focusing on three generations of artists from the same family. Alice Lok Cahana (1929-2017) was a Holocaust survivor who pledged she would become an artist if she survived the war. Rabbi Ronnie Cahana, Alice’s oldest son, is a poet and survivor of a major stroke. Kitra Cahana, Ronnie’s daughter, is a filmmaker and photographer. This exhibition reveals how the tragedy of the Holocaust impacted multiple generations of a family and how each member transformed the destructive trauma of the Shoah into [...]