Vera Klement (American, b. Poland, 1929) Birches/Embrace, 1994 Oil on canvas Miami University Art Museum purchase through the Commemorative Fund 2004.7
In Birches/Embrace, Vera Klement applies thick layers of white,
black, and brown paint to create marvelously textured birch
trunks against a stark white background while adding shades of
blue, red, yellow, green, and pink to the image within the
female figure. The transcendental, spiritual, and mysterious
qualities of this composition lead viewers to question what is
happening in the painting. Klement was born to Jewish parents
in Danzig, a German city-state, and her work is influenced by
traumas from the Holocaust. Working within the feminist art
scene of 1970s Chicago, Klement received praise for taking the
tradition of Abstract Expressionism and expanding out to
include themes from her life, creating her own unique style.