ZOE LEONARD
TALKS WITH
LYNNE COOKE
ABOUT
CEILA STOJKA
Free, RSVP required
TALKS WITH
LYNNE COOKE
ABOUT
CEILA STOJKA
Free, RSVP required
Friday,
June 5, 2026
6:30pm
Doors
7pm
Event begins
Limited capacity
June 5, 2026
6:30pm
Doors
7pm
Event begins
Limited capacity
Roma artist, activist, writer, lyricist, and singer Ceija Stojka (1933-2013) began making art when she was in her late 50s.
Her childhood had been brutally disrupted by the German invasion of Austria in 1938, after which she and her family were deported to a succession of concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Ravensbrück, and Bergen-Belsen. Starting in the early 1990s, spurred by the resurgence of extreme right nationalism in Austria and abroad and by her experiences as a Holocaust survivor, she created works of profound beauty and horror.
Her childhood had been brutally disrupted by the German invasion of Austria in 1938, after which she and her family were deported to a succession of concentration camps, including Auschwitz, Ravensbrück, and Bergen-Belsen. Starting in the early 1990s, spurred by the resurgence of extreme right nationalism in Austria and abroad and by her experiences as a Holocaust survivor, she created works of profound beauty and horror.
The artist Zoe Leonard has been in conversation with the curator Lynne Cooke about Ceija's work for a few years now.
In this event, Zoe asks Lynne about her research and about what she has learned about Ceija and her work—and about what connections it might have to Lynne's landmark Outliers exhibition from 2018.
And last but very much not least, Zoe wants to talk about the significance of showing this body of work right now at this particular moment, in relation to the current rise of neo-nazism, the global authoritarian turn, and Ceija’s own turn of phrase: Auschwitz is only sleeping.
Ceija Stoijka: Making Visible, curated by Lynne Cooke, is on view at the Drawing Center until June 7th.
In this event, Zoe asks Lynne about her research and about what she has learned about Ceija and her work—and about what connections it might have to Lynne's landmark Outliers exhibition from 2018.
And last but very much not least, Zoe wants to talk about the significance of showing this body of work right now at this particular moment, in relation to the current rise of neo-nazism, the global authoritarian turn, and Ceija’s own turn of phrase: Auschwitz is only sleeping.
Ceija Stoijka: Making Visible, curated by Lynne Cooke, is on view at the Drawing Center until June 7th.
Zoe Leonard (b. 1961) is an artist working in photography, sculpture, and installation. Her recent exhibition Al río / To the River toured from 2022 to 2025 at Mudam Luxembourg, Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia, and The Chinati Foundation, Marfa. The Whitney Museum and LA MoCA presented a survey exhibition of her work in 2018. She lives in New York.
Lynne Cooke (b. 1952) is a curator. She has served as Senior Curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC (2014 - 2026), as Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain (2008 - 2012, and as Curator at the Dia Art Foundation in New York City (1991–2008). She has organized major exhibitions with Rosemarie Trockel, Blinky Palermo, Richard Serra, and Zoe Leonard, among many others. Major group exhibitions include Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction 2023) and Outliers and American Vanguard Art (2018). She lives in New York.
Lynne Cooke (b. 1952) is a curator. She has served as Senior Curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC (2014 - 2026), as Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain (2008 - 2012, and as Curator at the Dia Art Foundation in New York City (1991–2008). She has organized major exhibitions with Rosemarie Trockel, Blinky Palermo, Richard Serra, and Zoe Leonard, among many others. Major group exhibitions include Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction 2023) and Outliers and American Vanguard Art (2018). She lives in New York.
Ceija Stojka (1933 - 2013) was a self-taught Austrian-Romani painter and narrator. Deported at the age of ten, she survived to three concentration camps, Auschwitz, Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen. In the 1980s, she began to draw on her memories, initially through oral narrations and poems, and subsequently through painting. Her work has been exhibited in major exhibitions in Germany, Austria, the United States, Japan, France, and Spain.
