Frank Stella and the destroyed wooden synagogues Special exhibition

Description

The American artist Frank Stella (1936-2024) created a series of collages, "maquettes" and monumental sculptures under the title "Polish Village" (1970-1973). The works refer to around 70 Eastern European villages with magnificent wooden synagogues. The Jewish communities gathered and prayed in these wooden synagogues from the 17th/18th to the 20th century. Almost all the synagogues were destroyed: in pogroms, by fire, during the First World War and finally by the National Socialists.

Frank Stella was inspired to create this series by a book by the architect couple Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka from 1959, which documents the destroyed synagogues: "Wooden Synagogues" (Polish: "Bóżnice drewniane", published in 1957). It contains pre-war photographs and architectural sketches together with information about the former congregations.

Moshe Verbin used the same work to build models of the synagogues. Verbin was born in Sokółka in 1920 and was able to emigrate to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1936 at the age of 16, where he helped to build Kibbutz Yakum. When he got his hands on "Wooden Synagogues", he began to rebuild the synagogues of his childhood in miniature.

Highlights

• Features works by Frank Stella inspired by destroyed Eastern European synagogues
• Focuses on the architectural and cultural history of wooden synagogues
• Includes models built by Moshe Verbin based on the same subject matter

General Information

The special exhibition at the Jüdisches Museum der Schweiz in Basel showcases Frank Stella's series "Polish Village," which reflects on the history of wooden synagogues in Eastern Europe. The event highlights the cultural loss caused by their destruction and features models by Moshe Verbin. The exhibition offers insights into Jewish architectural heritage and its tragic history.

Location

Vesalgasse 5, 4051 Basel, Schweiz

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