In the Mirror of Shoah Collection

COLLECTION OF WORKS DEDICATED TO HOLOCAUST

This small but quite strong series of works dedicated to Holocaust has a special place in the artist’s ouevre. There is a personal connection to the theme, as well, as several members of Michael’s immediate family and his wife Inna’s immediate family from Ukraine, Belorussia, Hungary and Austria were murdered in the Shoah. 

Michael does not believe that an artist should produce many work on this theme in particular. His concept of artistic reflections on Holocaust sees it as an extreme concentration of content with an ultimate laconism of expression, in order to be respectful to the unspeakable tragedy of the Shoah. It is from this his personal understanding, his series on Holocaust is deliberately small. 

These powerful and expressive works were featured in The Lessons of Survival  film on Simon Wiesenthal, the fact that has contributed in large to the critical acclaimed of the film by Michael’s wife Inna Rogatchi, and reviewing it by many critics as ‘an art film on re-addressing Holocaust in our time’ ( Dr Pamela Clement, Australia). 

Many of these works has been widely internationally reproduced in various media and publications. All of them had been exhibited internationally widely too. 

The Way ( 1995) work belonged to Simon Wiesenthal and his family and currently is with The Simon Wiesenthal Centre in Los-Angeles. Unforgiving ( 1993) work has become the part of The Permanent Art Collection at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Israel, while Faces of Holocaust triptych belong to the Permanent Art Collection of the Jewish Community of Dnepr, Ukraine , and was at permanent display at the Jewish People Memory & Holocaust Museum, Dnepr, Ukraine, during the period of 2012-2014.

In the Mirror of the Shoah collection is featured in the special For the Name and the Place musical video essay dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Yad Vashem – please consult Video Presentation page on this site.

Faces of Holocaust. Triptych. Oil, Indian Ink, white and black cotton paper, burned paper on cardboard.
70 x 164 cm. 1991-1992. Permanent Art Collection, Jewish Community of Dnepr, Ukraine. 
Faces of Holocaust. Triptych. Part 3. Grandfather.
Oil, Indian Ink, paper, burned paper on cardboard.
70 x 58 cm. 1991-1992. Permanent Art Collection, Jewish Community of Dnepr, Ukraine.
Faces of Holocaust. Triptych. Part 1. Mother.
Oil, Indian Ink, paper, burned paper on cardboard.
70 x 58 cm. 1991-1992. Permanent Art Collection, Jewish Community of Dnepr, Ukraine. 
Faces of Holocaust. Triptych. Part 2. Child. Oil, Indian Ink, paper, burned paper on cardboard. 70 x 58 cm. 1991-1992. Permanent Art Collection, Jewish Community of Dnepr, Ukraine. 
Final Solution. Oil on canvas. 88 x 68 cm. 1994.
Kotel ( The Western Wall). Oil on canvas. 43 x 110 cm. 1999. 
 The Way. Oil on canvas. 70 x 78 cm. 1993. Simon Wiesental’s and his family’s/Simon Wiesenthal Centre collection. Vienna, Austria – Los-Angeles, the USA. 
My Train. Oil on canvas. 60 x 70 cm. 1993.
Echo of Kazimierz. Oil on canvas. 100 x 130 cm. 2003.
Shoah. Oil on canvas. 80 x 76 cm. 1994.
Unforgiving. Oil on canvas. 90 x 60 cm. 1993. Permanent Art Collection, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Israel.
Kaddish. Oil on canvas. 90 x 88 cm. 1995. 
Mirages. Homage to Adel Chigrinsky and Abram Elovitch. Oil on canvas. 60 x 55 cm. 1995.
Living Shadow. Oil on canvas. 90 x 60 cm. 1993.
Ghetto Song V. Oil, Indian Ink on white cotton paper. 50 x 40 cm. 2017.
Simon Wiesenthal Rose. Prototype of the Simon Wiesenthal Prize. Oil pastel, Indian ink on yellow Italian hand-made cotton paper. 50 x 35 cm. 2023.
Shtetl Dreams I. Homage to writer Grigory Kanovich. Indian ink on white cotton paper. 50 x 40 cm. 2020.
Jewish Memories I. Homage to writer Grigory Kanovich. Oil pastel on Inna Rogatchi’s authored original archival print on cotton paper. 40 x 30 cm. 2020. Private collection of Grigory Kanovich family, Tel-Aviv- Brussels – Toronto.