SONJA EISENBERG 1926-2017
Sonja Eisenberg was a German-American abstract painter. In the words of Olivier Bernier of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "That her technique is dazzling goes without saying: these transparent mists, these vaporous distances, these infinitely subtle shades which appear in her work seem as if nature itself had made them; but then, great art always seems inevitable. We are offered a series of voluptuous pleasures as we look at the wealth of details; and that is as it should be. Other artists might think that, alone, was a sufficient achievement. Eisenberg knows better: even as her work seduces the eye, it speaks to the soul; and that is why it will remain after so much else is forgotten."
Born in Berlin in 1926, Eisenberg fled Nazi Germany with her family and came to New York where she lived and worked until her death in January 2017. Eisenberg's paintings have been exhibited widely across the United States and in France, Israel, Japan, Amsterdam, Austria, England, Switzerland and her native Germany. Her work is represented in the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, DC), the Jewish Museum of Art (New York, NY), the official collection of the United Nations (New York, NY), the Palm Springs Art Museum (Palm Springs, CA) and dozens of public and private collections.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Accademia Italia delle Arti e del Lavoro, Italy
World Federation of United Nations Association, United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY
The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY C
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
Fordham University Museum, New York, NY
Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
Anglo-American Art Museum, Baton Rouge, LA
Omega Institute, New Lebanon, NY
SELECTED ONE-WOMAN SHOWS
2017 "Retrospective" Leonard Tourné Gallery, New York, NY
2014 Leonard Tourné Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Leonard Tourné Gallery, New York, NY
2009 Winnacker Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2001 Horton Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1998 Dussman Kulturhaus, Berlin, Germany
1995 Park Hotel Gallery, Buergenstock, Switzerland
1994 Park Hotel Gallery, Vitznau, Switzerland
1989 The Millbrook Gallery, Millbrook, NY
1985 The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY
1983 The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY
1982 Avila Graphics, Ltd., New York, NY
1980 American Museum, Hayden Planetarium, New York, NY
1980 Bodley Gallery, New York, NY
1979 Colloquium Co-Evolution of Science and Spirit, New York, NY
1978 “United Nations for Planetary Citizens,” United Nations, New York, NY
1976 Bodley Gallery, New York, NY
1975 Fordham University, New York, NY
1975 The Palm Springs Desert Museum, CA
1974 Buyways Gallery, Sarasota, FL
1974 Galerie de Sfinx, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
1974 Huntsville Museum, Baton Rouge, LA
1974 Comara Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1973 Bodley Gallery, New York, NY
1972 Galerie Art du Monde, Paris, France
1970 Bodley Gallery, New York, NY
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
2012 “Symphony of Colors,” La Galleria Pall Mall, London, England
2012 “Spirit of Art,” Museum of Young Art, Palais Schonborn, Vienna, Austria
2011 “Lights in the Winter,” International Contemporary Art Exhibition, Jaffa Museum, Jaffa, Israel
2011 “Women in the Visual Arts,” Inselgalerie, Berlin, Germany
2011 Spirit of Art, Galleria Pall Mall, London, GB
2010 International Show Eternal Eve, Jaffa Museum of Antiquities, Tel Aviv, Israel
1989 International Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
1988 Foster Harmon Gallery of American Art, Sarasota, FL
1981 Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, NY
1979 Art Expo, Coliseum, New York, NY
1979 Cory Galleries, San Francisco, CA
1979 Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C
1978 Frederic Gollong, Saint Paul de Vence, France
1975 Buyways Gallery, Sarasota, FL
1975 The American Watercolor Society, 108th Annual Exhibition, New York, NY
1974 The American Watercolor Society, 107th Annual Exhibition, New York, NY
1973 “The Image of Movement,” The Stamford Museum, Stamford, CT
1973 Galerie Couturier, Stamford, Connecticut AWARDS
1993 “Die Kristallnacht”: Painting chosen by Briefmarkenhaus Krueger for Lithographs and Telephone cards, Munich, Germany
1984 Appointed Maestro Accademico Badriacense, Italy
1984 Appointed Artist in Residence, The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY
1983 Awarded Gold Medal for artistic merit, International Parliament for Safety and Peace
1981 Awarded Gold Medal – Accademia Italia delle Arti e del Lavoro, Parma, Italy
1975 American Watercolor Society, Traveling Exhibition
BOOKS
2005 “On Its Way” (based on the I Ching)
2004 “Soon”
2003 “Seeing the Gospel according to St. John”
2001 “Poems and Paintings”
DESIGN
1991–1997 Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Cover Designs for three monthly magazines: “Ziekenhuis & Instelling” “Groot Consument” “Tex Clean”
1981 WFUNA Cachet for the United Nations International Year of the Disabled Persons
1980 Cover “Discovering Fire for The Second Time” National Conference of Christians and Jews, New York, NY
1978 “Our Planet Earth” magazine cover
1977 WFUNA Cachet for the United Nations, Water Power Conference, New York, NY