Exhibition a reminder of Koerner's importance
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"Man on a Pole," painted by Henry Koerner in 1958-59, is an example of the direction the artist took in his work in response to the encroachment of Abstract Art, which was capturing the critical world. The painting, on loan from the collection of The Bank of New York Mellon, is among a dozen works by the late artist in "Henry Koerner's Pittsburgh" at Chatham University through Oct. 23. -
"Three Houses, Murray Hill Avenue" of 1953 is in the exhibition "Henry Koerner's Pittsburgh" at Chatham University Art Gallery through Oct. 23.
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An exhibition at Chatham University serves as a reminder of the local, national and international significance of the late Pittsburgh artist Henry Koerner.
Koerner, a Jew who was born in Vienna in 1915, escaped to the U.S. in 1938 after Hitler's forces entered Austria. His family, including his parents and brother, stayed and were murdered by the Nazis.
His body of work is as important for the unique way that he draws upon his personal history as for his adept technical and formal skills. While Koerner's life experience arguably fed his expression, he does not dwell on more familiar Holocaust imagery, such as emaciated bodies and railroad cars.
Rather, through the juxtaposition of everyday subjects rendered in Magic Realism style, Koerner takes on the larger question: How could such insanity occur in a universe generally presented as being rational?
In that context, the seemingly arbitrary -- at times menacing -- associations Koerner paints more realistically reflect true social structures. Idealized normalcy is the actual invention, the gloss over the turbulence that erupts in egregious purges of and by cultural groups.
The Holocaust is notable because of its enormity, documentation and origin within Western "civilized" culture. And it is certainly personal to thousands of people, living and dead. But it is not the sole example of such barbarism, nor a behavior relegated to the past.
By representing human experience as scattered and irrational, Koerner challenges and calls attention to flaws in conventional thinking, allowing new questions to be posed. Like Goya in "The Dream of Reason," Koerner probes the cracks where madness may lurk. And by doing so he extends the oneness of the Holocaust to encompass human experience.
This is not to say that Koerner, while thinking and intuiting expansively, dismisses loss and longing. He has painted tender depictions of his parents -- idyllic in their Viennese home or walking in an autumnal Austrian forest -- that are excruciatingly painful in context. Even these may be read metaphorically, inviting viewers to substitute their own meanings.
These qualities support a reconsideration of Koerner's work and placement of it in the art historical canon.
That is also a goal of his son, Joseph Leo Koerner, Thomas Professor of History of Art and Architecture and senior fellow at the Society of Fellows, Harvard University. He notes that his father had achieved fame in his youth, but that eventually his figurative style was overshadowed by Abstract art and dismissed by critics.
Professor Koerner presented a profound and wide-reaching analysis of one of his father's paintings, "Daedalus," to open the exhibition "Henry Koerner's Pittsburgh" at Chatham.
After achieving success in New York, Koerner moved to Pittsburgh. While an artist-in-residence at Chatham, then the Pennsylvania College for Women, he met his wife Joan Frasher.
The show is small, a dozen works, some pen and ink, and mostly from the artist's estate. But, Koerner's son presents it as evidence of his father's engagement in "an artistic dialogue" with Cezanne, as he resolved challenges of a changing national aesthetic. Thus, it is significant as a step in understanding Koerner's development.
Professor Koerner risks charges of nepotism, but he need not as the work is worthy. And frequently family are the keepers of the flame, as, for example, was Helen Sloan after the death of her husband, John. She ensured the continuance of his reputation by wisely choosing to give his art and archival materials to a museum large enough to be prestigious but small enough to ensure that the work wouldn't be relegated to a storage vault.
The blend of specific and universal in Koerner's expression makes it a good fit to the program it's a part of. "Light/The Holocaust & Humanity Project," organized by Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, will culminate in the performance of a dance by the same title Nov. 12-15 at the Byham Theater.
The work's creator, Austin Ballet's Stephen Mills, will not license the dance to a company without an "intense accompaniment of Holocaust-related programming." PBT made the commitment, and the Koerner exhibition is among 15 community collaborations organized here.
PBT executive director Harris Ferris allows the dance "will be disturbing, to be honest. We don't think it's the kind of thing that will spice up a subscription season." But along with the "responsibility to entertain and uplift" he says "the arts have this underlying role in shedding light on more difficult topics."
This Henry Koerner accomplished magnificently.
The exhibition continues through Oct. 23 at Chatham University Art Gallery. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is free. For information, call 412-365-1232 or visit www.chatham.edu.
"Aaronel deRoy Gruber -- A Life in Art," director Kenneth Love's film about the life and work of the accomplished Pittsburgh painter, sculptor and photographer who continues to work in her ninth decade, will be shown at noon tomorrow in the Frick Art Museum at the Frick Art & Historical Center, 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze. (Free; 56 minutes; for information, call 412-371-0600 or visit www.TheFrickPittsburgh.org).
Thaddeus Mosley will be the guest speaker at 7 tonight for the opening of the exhibition "Body of Work: Philip Mendlow," comprising paintings, works on paper and sculptures, at the American Jewish Museum, 5738 Darlington Road, Squirrel Hill. Mendlow, who taught Keith Haring at the Ivy School and was the president of the Society of Sculptors in the early 1980s, was born in Pittsburgh in 1933 and died in 2007. (Free; for information 412-521-8011 or www.jccpgh.org.)
Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet is holding its first Fall Knittreat Nov. 5-8 at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort. Accommodations, meals, workshops, fiber swap and more for $599. Register by tomorrow at 412-963-7030 or www.pghknitandcrochet.com.
First Published October 14, 2009 12:00 am
