Erna ROSENSTEIN (1913-2004), Enchanted with stones

tempera, oil, pen, ink, cardboard, 46.50 x 34 cm;
signed l. d.: E. Rosenstein (in ink); on the reverse, author's description "ZAKLĘCI / W KAMIENIE" (in pencil),
on the right, dedication (illegible).

"The line wounds the surface,
Which begins to shine and have
color. As if I had scratched. The dash
Is a break in a certain continuity,
It radiates like a wound. It is
It is an entrance into the depths of space.
A rupture. There is, of course,
also the outer surface of
of space and its color.
Erna Rosenstein
[for: The Unexpected. Drawing,
sculpture, painting. Erna Rosenstein
[exhibition catalog] interviewed by Zbigniew
Taranienko], Studio Art Center,
Warsaw, 1984, p. nlb.] Erna Rosenstein's paintings have been compared to works
associated with the surrealist current. The artist, despite the fact that she
lived in Warsaw, she was strongly connected with the Kraków
creative community. As a member of the Krakow Group
she presented her compositions at the Krzysztofory gallery.
At the same time, she exhibited at Warsaw's Krzywe
Circle. She also took̇ part in two important Krakow
shows: The First Exhibition of Modern Art and the exhibition
"Nine" organized in 1955. She shared a strong
́s bond with Jonasz Stern. The war years, her stay in Lviv
Ghetto and the time of occupation had a strong influence on the artist̨.
Erna Rosenstein's works arę characterized by poeticism̨. Small
sized boards or works on paper, made
in mixed techniques with elements of collage, were often an
part of a larger composition - an installation. During the exhibition
organized by the Central Bureau of Artistic Exhibitions
in Warsaw in 1967, one could seé, among other things, small
padded boxes in which the artist hung her paintings,
a closet̨ full of works, or a spacé divided by walls into small
intimate zones conducive to contemplation.
In 2014, in Warsaw's Królikarnia (a branch of the National Museum
National) hosted an exhibition that was an attempted̨ retrospective.
under the title "Superimposition." At the same time, a monograph was published̨
on the artist "Erna Rosenstein. I can̨ repeat́
only unconsciously" compiled by Dorotą Jarecka and Barbarą
Piwowarska. In 2021 and 2022, the Hauser & Wirth gallery held
two monographic exhibitions of the artist consecutively in New York
and Zurich. Also in 2021-2022, works by Erna Rosenstein
could be admired during an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London
and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York during the
"Surrealism Beyond Borders" presentation.