,A Legacy of Remembrance: An Educational Art Exhibit about the Holocaust

A Legacy of Remembrance” is an educational art exhibition of fine art drawings and paintings focused on the Holocaust.

A Legacy of Remembrance is a fine art exhibition of more than 30 original paintings and drawings focused on the Holocaust. The artwork was developed from photographs primarily available from the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and the collection is continually added to by the artist, Mark L. Cohen.  Previously exhibited at the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in Dania Beach, Florida, Temple Israel in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Florida International University in North Miami, Florida, the exhibit is available for rentals now.

OVERVIEW OF THE EXHIBITION

The Concept

Over 28,000 people, mostly Jews, were imprisoned during World War ll, in a Nazi concentration camp at the outskirts of Krakow, Poland.  At the conclusion of the war, the camp commandant, Amon Goeth, was tried and convicted of war crimes by the restored Polish government and subsequently executed. He was responsible for killing between 8,000 and 12,000 Plaszow concentration camp prisoners. The movie Schindler’s List tells the story of this death camp. As a result, this series of paintings in this exhibition looks at the Holocaust overall and the Plaszow camp, in particular, from a different perspective. The paintings are another form of documentation of events that actually happened.

Educational Initiative

The purpose of this exhibition is to educate viewers about the Holocaust and it’s far-reaching effects, even into the present day. In partnership with the Armory Art Center, the artist has created two educational components that are available for purchase. Now, you can schedule a Zoom meeting for your group, class, school, church, synagogue or any meeting of your choice. The artist, Mark L. Cohen, will lead your Zoom meeting, explaining the subject matter of each work of art and giving a virtual PowerPoint presentation. The Armory Art Center will coordinate with your organization to provide the zoom link and and track participation. You’ll receive a turnkey presentation, along with a concluding Q & A guaranteed to educate your viewers.

Rental rate for a Zoom presentation is $500.00

The in person exhibition is dependent on venues large enough to show the actual paintings and drawings, which vary in sizes from 9′ high x 18′ wide to 20” x 30” fine art prints. The original art is on un-stretched canvas, making the works easy and inexpensive to ship and install. Aluminum push pins support the artwork installation.

Rental rate for the show is $8,000 for a 60 day rental.

If you are interested in either the zoom presentation or in-person exhibition option, please contact us by email here.

The following paintings, with accompanying narratives, are a preview of A Legacy of Remembrance, Mark L. Cohen’s Holocaust painting exhibition.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Funding for this exhibition and educational initiative comes in part from a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Florida Division of Arts & Culture; presented in collaboration with the Armory Art Center.

       

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Mark L. Cohen is an award-winning marketing communications executive, graphic designer, teacher, painter and printmaker.  His subject matter utilizes contemporary and past iconic figures from politics, popular culture, entertainment and war and peace. He has chosen to paint many of the human “monsters” in contemporary life, including Jared Loughner, James Holmes, Bashar al-Assad and many more.  One of these monsters, Amon Goeth, the commandant of the World War ll Nazi Plaszow Concentration Camp spurred him to create a series of paintings about the Holocaust, Plaszow and three generations of women associated with Goeth.

Most of the paintings are large scale works that demand notice.  They exhibit a sparse and concise pictorial composition that combines abstract expressionism and pop art in their execution. In these paintings, viewers can investigate issues of antisemitism and genocide. These same issues are seen in the perpetration of other heinous acts that are reported in the media on an all too frequent basis. 

The artist’s intention is to remind viewers that more than seventy years after the Holocaust, we live in a world of not only continuing antisemitism, but hateful biases that result in genocides and senseless killings around the world.  The artist hopes that all of us will do everything possible to end hatred and promote understanding toward all people. Similarly, Cohen has also created a series of thirty paintings that examine issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement.  In 2020, he painted a series of ten paintings about Covid-19 and mask-wearing.  The purpose of the works is to remind all of us about the selfless efforts of doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals who risk their lives daily to care for us.

Learn more about the artist at marklouiscohen.com