The Gallery at Mercer is currently hosting a special exhibit featuring works by Holocaust survivor, refugee, artist, and poet, Yonia Fain. Fain was born in Ukraine in 1913. Before passing away at age 100, Fain lived in eight different countries as he fled the Nazis during WWII. He documented his tragic experiences through his poetry and artwork.
The artist Yonia Fain as a young man. Fain survived the Holocaust and went on to be an artist FILE PHOTO dying at age 100 in 2013. | File Photo 
Professor of Fine Arts Yevgeniy Fiks at “Yonia Fain” exhibit opening at MCCC’s Gallery on the MCCC West Windsor Campus, presenting his “Map of Refugee Modernism” to (From left) college president Dr. Deborah Preston, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Robert Schreyer and Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. James Whitney. | PHOTO: Julia Meriney 
“Witness to History” (2000). Yonia Fain. Markers and pastel on paper. Courtesy of Congress for Jewish Culture. | PHOTO: Julia Meriney 
Sketch of a proposed Holocaust memorial for New York City (1980). Courtesy of Congress for Jewish Culture. | PHOTO: Julia Meriney 
West Hall of MCCC’s Gallery on the second floor of the Communication Building on the West Windsor Campus. | PHOTO: Julia Meriney 
East Hall of MCCC’s Gallery on the second floor of the Communication Building on the West Windsor Campus. | PHOTO: Julia Meriney
Although Fain’s migration to safety started a century ago as he and his family fled Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution, his story remains relevant today.
Inspired by the brutality and horror of Fain’s past, his images don’t depict the Holocaust specifically. Instead, Fain captures the universal destruction and pain caused by war. As a result, his images reflect many conflicts that have happened since WWII.
Curated by Yevgeniy Fiks, Professor of Visual Arts at Mercer, with the help of Mercer County Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights Education Center, the exhibit, Yonia Fain: Refugee Modernism, opened at the Gallery at Mercer with a public reception on October 18.
Professor Fiks, who is an active participant in the Yiddish art community, chose to highlight Fain’s artwork as a way of commemorating and remembering the Yiddish culture.
Professor Fiks says, “The Holocaust certainly was a major blow to the Yiddish culture in Europe. Most of the victims of the Holocaust were Yiddish speakers.”
As a way to honor Fain’s life works, Professor Fiks chose to bring the exhibit to Mercer.
During the reception, the gallery provided light refreshments and Mercer’s Jazz Band performed live music. Attendees were able to view Fain’s artwork, read some of his poetry, and watch a documentary interview featuring the artist himself.
Mercer’s president, Dr. Deborah Preston, was at the opening reception and, with the Israel-Hamas war starting just eleven days earlier, she spoke to the crowd about the importance of the exhibit.
Dr. Preston says, “I think when you have the sort of coincidental convergence of a show like this, at a time when the world is proving once again that we are just going to keep being violent and that we are just going to keep showing the worst of humanity to each other, I think that art is one of the places we have to go to make sense of the world.”
When walking around the gallery, viewers can see how Fain used his art as a way to make sense of the Holocaust. At first, the message might seem unclear as there is no reference to Jewish symbolism, but once the participants learn about Fain’s past and understand the context, the images of destruction, fragmentation, and disfigured forms can’t be unseen.
Understanding the artist and the context in which the artwork is created is something that Professor Fiks teaches his students to do. He explains that art is more than just an image. He says, “In our classes, we teach a lot of techniques and formal art ideas, but at a certain point, the art becomes about who made it and when it was made.”
Professor Fiks continues, “Students come to see an art show, but they inevitably get a lesson in history, sociology, political science and geopolitics.”
As a way to better understand the context of Fain’s past, Professor Fiks created a companion piece that helps people understand Fain’s life as a refugee. This work was part of a project, Yiddishland Pavilion, for the 59th Venice Biennale. Professor Fiks was one of the artists invited to create a contemporary exhibit on Yiddish culture.
The artwork, titled Yonia Fain, Map of Refugee Modernism, is an image of a wartime map from 1942 that documents the world as it was when Fain fled from Ukraine, to Lithuania, Poland, Soviet Union, Japan, China, Mexico, and the US. This piece is also on display at Mercer.
The Gallery at Mercer will have Fain’s artwork, poetry, and documentary interview available for viewing until December 13.
In addition to the exhibit at Mercer, Professor Fiks has another show, Modern-ish: Yonia Fain and the Art History of Yiddishland, at The Center for Humanities – The James Gallery, in New York City that runs until December 8.
Professor Fiks hopes that, through these exhibitions, more contemporary artists will become familiar with Fain’s work as a Jewish refugee. Fiks says, “We need to find a way to remember [Yonia Fain], but also bring Yiddish art and culture into the contemporary moment – into the present.”
