The Holocaust Memorial Center will host an opening program for its newest exhibit, “A la Mémoire des Enfants Déportés,” at 7 p.m. on January 27.

The exhibition, which includes calligraphic artwork honoring the 11,400 French Jewish children deported and, for many, murdered from 1942 to 1944, will remain on display through May 15.

Approximately 300 of the plaques in Paris have been placed on the facades of schools the children had attended throughout the city. Repeated on Winter’s panels are the number of children deported in each arrondissement (district), as well as words such as “complicité,” “la barbarie nazie” and “déportés et assassinés” or complicity, Nazi barbarity and deported and assassinated.

Winters is a calligraphic artist who divides her time between Paris and New York. Upon viewing the plaques around Paris, she began work on the calligraphic paintings using their text as inspiration.

“My goal as an artist has been to take these words off the walls of old school buildings and convert them into works of art that focus the attention of the viewer once again on this devastating chapter of history,” said Winters. “ I am pleased to bring this exhibit to metropolitan Detroit and the Holocaust Memorial Center.”

Expressed through calligraphy, color and texture, the artwork was created on watercolor paper using layers of paint and ink, writing and rewriting in a variety of styles. It ranges in size from approximately 9-inches-by-12-inches to 18-inches-by-24-inches and its media includes gouache, watercolor, acrylic paint and a variety of inks.

The event will begin with a wine and dessert reception with the exhibit’s artist, Eleanor Winters, followed by an artist talk and presentation at 7:30 p.m. Sponsored by PNC Wealth Management, the evening’s music will be generously provided by Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. The cost to attend is free to members and $10 for nonmembers.

–Press release

Originally published HERE.