Past

Zoya Cherkassky: 7 October 2023

Dec. 15, 2023 – Mar. 18, 2024

In these recent drawings, Zoya Cherkassky addresses the harrowing events of October 7, 2023.

In these recent drawings, Zoya Cherkassky (born in Kyiv, Ukraine, 1976, lives and works in Israel) addresses the harrowing events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,200 people, seized over 240 hostages, and wounded many from numerous countries, including Israelis, noncitizens, and those with dual citizenship of different races and religions. In the months since, war has raged throughout the region, with rising numbers of Palestinians and Israelis caught in the crossfire.

The artist’s response to the October 7 attacks is visceral, intense, and at times graphic, driven by her feeling that “in a moment like this, you cannot think about anything else, so I knew I would be making art about it.” The resulting body of work, shown here publicly for the first time, constitutes a singular, personal, and intuitive reaction to the ongoing conflict.

Cherkassky started making these drawings about a week after the war began, when she left Israel with her young daughter, grabbing pencils, wax crayons, watercolors, and whatever supplies she could fit in her luggage. These are gut-wrenching scenes rendered in bright colors against black backgrounds. Shocking depictions of kidnapping, destruction, and anguish are portrayed in a graphic and legible style that is easily understood. At the same time, the works draw upon a long history of artistic representations of war, from Käthe Kollwitz to Pablo Picasso. Cherkassky’s childhood in the Soviet Union, where socialist realism was the norm for visual art, exposed her to the impact of this kind of realism, often with a strong political message.

Cherkassky, who emigrated to Israel in 1991, has addressed antisemitism, racism, xenophobia, and immigrant experiences in her art for more than two decades. In a 2022 series, after Russia invaded Ukraine, she juxtaposed reimagined scenes from her childhood in Kyiv with renderings of the same locations destroyed during the war. The artist has been critical of the current Israeli government’s role in the historical Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and, earlier this year, in response to violence committed by Israeli settlers, she drew a Palestinian family with their town of Huwara in flames. In this series, Cherkassky focuses her artistic energies on depicting the devastating reality of the October 7 attacks to “show that I see this tragedy, and I understand what happened.”

The installation is on view in the Third Floor galleries.

 

In the Press
“Cherkassky’s extraordinary response represented her dominant mode as an artist: to answer events to which she feels an intimate connection.”
— The New York Times

“A rapid-response solo exhibition, inspired by art history, reflects on the present.”
— Artnet News

“At the Jewish Museum, gut-wrenching drawings depict the terror of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.”
— NY Jewish Week

This gallery display is made possible by Yoav Gottesman, London.

Illustration of a group of distressed women and children walking together against a dark background. The figures appear sorrowful, some covering their faces, others comforting one another. The artwork uses simplified forms, strong outlines, and a muted color palette with shades of red, purple, and beige.

Zoya Cherkassky, Kidnapped Women, 2023. Watercolor, marker, color pencil, and wax crayon on paper. Artwork © Zoya Cherkassky, courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York.

Exhibition highlights

  • Illustration of a distressed family group standing together against a dark background. The scene includes adults, children, and an elderly man with a cane, all wearing expressions of worry or sadness. A baby is held closely by a woman, while other family members embrace each other for comfort. A skull and a lightbulb are drawn above them, adding a somber tone. The artwork features bold outlines and a muted palette of oranges, blacks, whites, and grays.

    Zoya Cherkassky, Oct. 7. 23, 2023. Watercolor, marker, color pencil, and wax crayon on paper. Artwork © Zoya Cherkassky, courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York.

  • Illustration of a family sitting around a table eating breakfast. The scene includes two adults, a teenage girl, a young boy drinking from a bowl, and a toddler on the mother's lap. The table is filled with simple dishes like bread and tea, and broken pieces of crockery are scattered on the floor. The background is dark, creating a somber atmosphere. The artwork uses flat shapes, muted tones, and minimal shading with accents of orange, green, and white.

    Zoya Cherkassky, Breakfast in Ashes, 2023. Watercolor, marker, color pencil, and wax crayon on paper. Artwork © Zoya Cherkassky, courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York.

  • Illustration of a group of people standing together in a dark setting with flames in the background. The group includes men, women, children, and an infant, with several figures holding rifles slung over their shoulders. One child holds a Torah scroll with a yellow Star of David on its red cover. The people display serious, somber, or fearful expressions. The figures are depicted in a flat, graphic style using muted tones with accents of red, orange, and green.

    Zoya Cherkassky, Simchat Torah, 2023. Watercolor, marker, color pencil, and wax crayon on paper. Artwork © Zoya Cherkassky, courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York.