Perla-Mode was the former Jewish textile shop on Langstrasse and is the namesake of the Perla-Mode art space. The Jewish female name Perla was popular in the shtetls of Eastern Europe and among Eastern European Jewish emigrants, including in the Jewish quarter of Zurich Aussersihl, known as the “Schtetl an der Sihl” (Shtetl on the Sihl).
In the message salon on the first floor of Perla-Mode, St. Gallen artist Gilgi Guggenheim presents the artistic interpretation of her research into her family, beginning with her great-grandmother Perla, who was murdered in the Shoah along with many other members of her family. Gilgi Guggenheim’s medium is painting. The portraits and landscapes explore this very personal story, subtly telling of loss and exile, of family ties, hope and vitality. Jewish themes, remembrance and questioning find artistic expression in the paintings. Gilgi Guggenheim, born in Israel in 1973 and mother of two daughters, traces the line of women in her family, the “Perla chain”, and draws a connection to the present. The research has resulted in a publication. In the carefully designed book “für Perla” (for Perla), the images have been supplemented with an additional layer. The texts record conversations the painter had with visitors to her studio, including Swiss artist Roman Signer and Israeli writer and playwright Joshua Sobol.
On Tuesday, 29 April, Katarina Holländer will talk to Gilgi Guggenheim in the exhibition about her motivation for research and artistic expression. Katarina Holländer is an author, translator and art historian who lives and works in Prague and Zurich. The discussion event is a collaboration with Omanut, an association for the promotion of Jewish art in Switzerland.
The book:
Gilgi Guggenheim
für Perla / for Perla— Bilder, Gespräche / Paintings, Talks
Edition Fink, Zurich 2007