Remembering Vilna: The Holocaust and the Art of Samuel Bak

Born in 1933, Samuel Bak is a Jewish Lithuanian-American painter born on the eve of the Second World War and whose history as a survivor of the Holocaust is integral to his remarkable, celebrated career as an artist.  Remembering Vilna, named for Bak’s birthplace, is an original exhibition that sheds eye-opening light not only on the childhood experiences that have shaped Bak’s life and art but also on the importance of documenting and retaining historical memory. Figurative and surreal, Bak’s allegorical, symbol-laden, and moving paintings grapple with a grim but not-too-distant past — reminding each of us how essential it is that we remember and reflect so we can imagine and build a better tomorrow.