“BLEU / NUIT. ART AFTER THE CAMPS.
AN EXHIBITION OF WORKS BY SHELOMO SELINGER”
"Bleu / Nuit. Art after the camps. The exhibition of works by Shelomo Selinger" showcases a selection of artworks that reflect the artistic journey of this Holocaust survivor. The exhibition highlights his artistic themes – celebrating life while honouring the memory of the deceased – and his favourite techniques, including stone sculpture (using the direct method), bas-reliefs, drawings, and woodcuts.
Drancy Holocaust Memorial
Opening on April 9, this exhibition pays tribute to the extraordinary life and creative path of Shelomo Selinger, both as an artist and
a witness. It takes place at the Drancy Holocaust Memorial, a building inaugurated in 2012, situated opposite the Monument to the Deportees, which Selinger himself designed in 1976 in remembrance of the former internment camp located in Drancy. Comprising around 60 works, many of which are being displayed or published for the first time, this exhibition invites visitors to explore the richness and diversity of Shelomo Selinger's art, revealing its profound humanistic dimension.
"Those who have experienced concentration camps will never truly escape their memories. They linger every night, and with them, every morning, are the souls of those who were murdered beside me—testaments to the overwhelming, formless darkness from which I carve out hope." (Shelomo Selinger)
The exhibition charts Shelomo Selinger's personal and artistic journey, featuring
a curated collection of graphic works and sculptures. The Monument to the Deportees, erected by the artist in 1976 in front of the La Muette housing estate, signifies a pivotal moment in his artistic journey. A model of this monument can be found on the third level of the permanent exhibition, conveniently located near the glass windows overlooking La Muette and beside three sculptures depicting the Shoah's heroines.
The project in Drancy opened new avenues for the artist to delve into the theme of memory, which, while always a part of his work, had never been expressed so directly as in the large-format charcoal drawings showcased here. In contrast, other drawings highlight themes of dance and music, both of which hold significant importance in his oeuvre. Additionally, the exhibition features selected reliefs and illustrations created by the artist for his close friend, poet Bruno Durocher (1919–1996). Like Selinger, Durocher was born in Poland and survived the German camps. The interplay between poetry and drawing reflects their shared determination to create amid the shadows of their past.
In 1972, Selinger emerged as the unanimous winner of an international competition to design the Monument to the Deportees in front of the La Muette housing estate in Drancy. This project was initiated in 1963 by then-mayor Maurice Nilès. After four years of dedicated work, during which he spent two years living in a caravan at a pink granite quarry near Perros-Guirec, Selinger completed the monument’s three parts, which were unveiled in 1976 atop a small hill that serves as a pedestal. Together, these three sculptures form the Hebrew letter shin (ש).
This motif symbolises unity, even amidst the differences between the two side blocks, which the artist likens to the gates of hell. His wife, Ruth, contributed by designing the initials of the texts engraved on the stone for these blocks. The central element features human figures entwined in an embrace—a gesture that conveys both the embrace of death and the embrace of love. This duality captures the essence of Selinger's work, as it honours the dead while simultaneously celebrating life.
Unlike many of his contemporaries who survived the camps, Selinger did not create art during his imprisonment. It wasn't until the war ended in 1951 and he moved to Israel, where he met Ruth, that he became engaged with art. Since then, his primary focus has been on sculpture. However, while working on the Drancy monument, Selinger also began
a significant series of large-format drawings dedicated to the Shoah, whose extreme brutality draws on various biblical themes. Selinger composes his drawings as if he were sculpting bas-reliefs – condensing and juxtaposing figures on a single plane. The saturation of space may be evidence of the powerful violence of which he was one of the numerous victims.
The artist creates as a witness. The artistic dimension of his works does not diminish their impact – on the contrary, it intricately weaves the traumas into the very fabric of the pieces, manifesting as “graphic wounds.” Although the depicted figures of the deportees—in striped uniforms - are always in a position of vulnerability, some of Selinger's drawings also testify to acts of resistance. His artistic repertoire is technically and thematically varied, extending beyond his camps experiences and the Shoah memory. Much of his work celebrates the joy of life, drawing inspiration, especially from music and dance.
Shelomo Selinger was born into a Jewish family in the small Polish town of Szczakowa (now part of Jaworzno), near Oświęcim. He grew up with
a traditional Jewish upbringing and attended
a Polish public school. In 1943, during the war, he and his father were forcibly taken by the Germans from the ghetto in Chrzanów and transported to the Faulbrück concentration camp. Tragically, just three months later, his father was murdered, leaving Selinger alone in the camp. His mother and one of his sisters also perished during the Holocaust. Selinger endured the harrowing experience of surviving nine different German camps: Faulbrück, Gröditz, Markstadt, Fünfteichen, Gross-Rosen, Flossenburg, Dresden, Leitmeritz, and ultimately Theresienstadt, along with two gruelling death marches.
In 1945, when the Red Army liberated the Theresienstadt ghetto, Selinger was found clinging to life on a pile of corpses. A Jewish military doctor rescued him from the heap and brought him to an army field hospital, where he began to recover. However, he suffered from total amnesia for an entire seven years following his ordeal.
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