DREAM, MEMORY, LOVE International Tour: 1995-2005
Dream, Memory, Love was a big project of international tour of Michael Rogatchi’s exhibitions. In different countries, exhibitions varied in size and outline around the core exhibition of 40 paintings. Dream, Memory, Love was a retrospective of the artist presenting his works reflecting Holocaust and the works of metaphorical expressionism. In some countries, BOLERO composition was added to that. Dream, Memory, Love tour was curated by Inna Rogatchi.
Prior to Dream, Memory, Love tour, Michael Rogatchi was invited and participated in many international exhibitions, both personal and group ones. Especially successful and rewarding were several his exhibitions in London, UK, n mid-1990s. Many partnering international culture organisations have invited Michael for following exhibition. Artist himself was interested in showing his work in a consistent way and according to elaborated concept, not by the way of spontaneous exhibitions. Having several standing invitation, Michael wanted to start major international tour representing his works from Krakow, Poland – in homage to memory of his and his wife Inna’s families members, some of them perished in Holocaust.
In the middle of the 1990s, Poland was the right place to come with a major art exhibition part of which was re-addressing Holocaust. At that time, Poland and its people did a lot to restore that suppressed memory, and Polish society was open to much over-due dialogue on that painful but vital matter. Although Dream, Memory, Love project was not only about artistic re-addressing Holocaust, but the theme played quite essential role in the project. It is possible to say that it was a moral compass of the project which in its entirety was about artistic rendering human memory and artistic interpretation of our values in the end of XX century – beginning of XXI century.
The project run 15 exhibitions in 8 countries during a decade 1995-2005. The international tour started from two significant exhibitions in Finland, Jewish Way ( Espoo Theatre, April-May 1995) which happened to be the first , and the only one, to this day, exhibition on the Jewish theme by contemporary artist in Finland, and L’Amore ( Tampere Hall, January 1997) , the only retrospective of a living artist shown in the largest culture centre of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. It continued with three exhibitions in Poland, in Krakow, Oswiecim and Warsaw , all in 2004; major retrospective in Vilnius, Lithuania, two exhibitions in Riga, Latvia, including the exhibition in highly prestigious Museum of Black Brotherhood ( July 2004), two exhibitions in Tallinn, Estonia, including the exhibition at prestigious National Library of Estonia ( August 2005) , in the course of the project’s unfolding.
All three exhibitions in Poland were organised in highly significant places: Judaica Centre in Krakow, History Centre in Oswiecim ( which is the city in close proximity to the Nazi Auschwitz extermination camp), and at the Gallery of the Historical Jewish Institute in Warsaw, the one of the most distinguished historical institutions in the world, and physical place where the Great Synagogue of Warsaw were standing before being blown up by the Nazis.
Interesting enough, during the 15 exhibitions’ tour in eight countries , there was not a single similar one. All of them were curated by Inna Rogatchi in the way that every exhibition would be different. While exhibitions in Poland were focused on the artistic re-addressing Holocaust, all six exhibitions in the Baltic states were elegant retrospectives at the best art venues of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn, and being pioneering contemporary Western figurative art retrospectives in those countries at the time.
Followed major exhibition in Jerusalem did cause such overwhelming interest that it was prolonged for an extra month. The place for the exhibition proposed by the Municipality of Jerusalem cannot be more suitable, as the part of 65 works exhibited were dedicated to the artistic re-addressing Holocaust. Situated in the heart of Jerusalem, Gerard Behar Art and Culture Centre was in fact the place where the famous Eichmann Trial took place in 1961.
In 2005, Dream, Memory, Love tour has moved to Italy, with two large retrospectives in Florence and Rome, at the prestigious venues of Il Pitigliani Centre in Rome and Jewish Museum in Florence. The focus of those two retrospectives in Italy was on the works depicting the Jewish heritage and tradition and the direction of metaphorical expressionism.
A big retrospective in London did conclude the 10-year project. A wonderful exhibition was organised at Etz Chayim Synagogue in London which is the only designated art gallery among synagogue buildings and institutions in the whole UK.
Dream, Memory, Love project had its distinct feature during entire decade of its unfolding, it was a philanthropic endeavour. All fifteen exhibitions organised in eight countries have had a strong charitable part in each of them. Depending on the needs of the hosting partners and co-organisers, Michael Rogatchi and The Rogatchi Foundation conducted many charitable initiatives connected to the Dream, Memory, Love international tour. It included special charitable Artist Talk and Discussion at The Jewish Way exhibition in Espoo, and L’ Amore retrospective at the Tampere Hall in Finland; master-classes in Poland, charitable sales and donations in support of Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw and Judaica Centre in Krakow; special charitable sale in support of Children Oncology Institute in Vilnius; charitable sales and donations in support of the National Library of Estonia and the Culture Jewish Centre in Tallinn, as well as schools in Riga. It also included special charitable sales and donations in support of children cancer patients in Rome, and the Library of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Florence and children art school there, along with charitable master-classes in Florence. In Jerusalem, the exhibition has become a framework for several charitable projects, including support of the children-victims of terror, and disadvantaged children in Jerusalem. In London, the exhibition heralded a special charitable campaign in support of new and much needed program for nurses specialising in particular cancer treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital. All these charitable initiatives conducted through the Dream, Memory, Love decade-long project were having a long-lasting effect which was another worthy addition to the artistic dimension of the project.
The project and its exhibitions has caused a big public interest in all eight countries of its undertaking, and there was a very wide media coverage of it. The project has also set example for many artists and institutions on perfect compatibility between art creation, art presentation, art education and art-based philanthropy. We are happy to know that our Dream, Memory, Love project have had a long and positive echo among the public, colleagues artists and many institutions and organisations all over Europe.