“Michael
Knigin is a lyrical, provocative artist whose work challenges our concepts of
reality and our view of life. This gentle, unassuming man left a legacy of
commitment to print-making in all its forms. He had an abiding interest in
creating a body of work that pays tribute to the victims of the holocaust and
his work on Anne Frank is a cornerstone of that commitment,” said Mark Rowland,
the museum’s director.
Rowland
is an artist in his own right with over 40 years experience as a fine art
product developer and serigraphic atelier owner for artists including Erte,
Leroy Neiman, Steven Holland and Eyvind Earle.
Knigin
(pronounced K-nee-gin) stated, “It is a major shock and outrage to realize that
our present generation of children is growing up with little or no knowledge of
Anne Frank and her brave, heroic spirit.”
Knigin,
who owned and operated Chiron Press, helped a generation of young artists take
form, grow and succeed in his role as a professor at Pratt Institute in
Brooklyn , N.Y. and a teacher at Yale University. He authored a definitive book
on lithography and worked with both Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
Knigin
added, “In 1975, the Israel Museum and the Jerusalem Foundation asked me to
establish the first professional lithographic and silk screen atelier in
Israel. I was simultaneously working with the ministry of labor and education
where I began meeting [Holocaust] survivors. Their stories were so
unbelievable, compelling and horrifying that I started then and there to create
collages of my interpretation of what I’d heard.”
His
work is owned by over 60 museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the
Whitney Museum and the Carnegie-Mellon Institute.
The
accompanying Chai Lights exhibit features 100 works of art by Las Vegas artists
of Jewish descent as well as non-Jewish artists portraying Jewish themes.
Sculptor Sharon Gainsburg, photographer Alan Rosenberg, and mixed media artists
Dinah Steinberg and Anne Furno are just four of the 31 local artists whose
works are displayed in the museum galleries. All local artists’ works are for
sale, as well as selected prints by Michael Knigin.
The Southern
Nevada Museum of Fine Art is a 17,000 square foot space located in downtown Las
Vegas at 450 Fremont St., within the Neonopolis complex. It is a member of the
American Alliance of Museums. Annual membership is $30 and includes free
admission to the museum for one year.
For
more information on the Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Art, including parking,
access and days and hours of operation go to: www.snmfa.com.
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