Paloma Varga-Weisz Reconstructs Father's Atelier in Stommeln Synagogue
Since 1991, the town of Pulheim, located near Cologne, has hosted an annual artist residency at the former synagogue in Stommeln, which narrowly escaped destruction during the 1938 Reichspogromnacht after being sold to a local farmer. Renowned artists such as Richard Serra and Jannis Kounellis have contributed to this initiative. This year, Paloma Varga-Weisz is recreating her father's studio within the synagogue. Feri Varga, who emigrated from Hungary to Paris and formed connections with notable figures like Picasso, chose to remain silent about his Jewish heritage and the murder of his partner in Auschwitz. This silence profoundly influenced Paloma's installation, "Paloma Varga WEISZ," which includes a life-sized puppet of her father, encouraging contemplation on the past's influence on the present, reminiscent of Tadeusz Kantor's "The Dead Class," displayed in Venice until November.
Key facts
- Since 1991, the city of Pulheim near Cologne has annually invited an artist to create a temporary project in the former synagogue in Stommeln.
- The synagogue survived the 1938 Reichspogromnacht because it had been sold to a farmer and used as a storage room shortly before.
- Artists who have participated include Jannis Kounellis, Richard Serra, Maurizio Cattelan, Georg Baselitz, and Rosemarie Trockel.
- Santiago Sierra directed car exhaust into the interior and had visitors enter wearing gas masks.
- Daniel Buren transformed the square "small cube" into a miniature Versailles.
- Paloma Varga-Weisz reconstructs her father's atelier in the synagogue, featuring a life-size puppet of her father as an umbrella stand.
- Feri Varga left Hungary to study at the art academy in Paris, befriended Picasso, Giacometti, Stein, and Cocteau, and fled to Cagnes-sur-Mer in 1940.
- The installation is titled "Paloma Varga WEISZ" and cannot be entered by visitors.
Entities
Artists
- Paloma Varga-Weisz
- Feri Varga
- Jannis Kounellis
- Richard Serra
- Maurizio Cattelan
- Georg Baselitz
- Rosemarie Trockel
- Santiago Sierra
- Daniel Buren
- Pablo Picasso
- Alberto Giacometti
- Gertrude Stein
- Jean Cocteau
- Josef Haubrich
- Tadeusz Kantor
Institutions
- Synagoge Stommeln
- Stadt Pulheim
- Kunstakademie Paris
Locations
- Stommeln
- Pulheim
- Cologne
- Germany
- Neustadt an der Weinstraße
- Paris
- France
- Cagnes-sur-Mer
- Auschwitz
- Poland
- Venice
- Italy
- Galicia