Dessa Petroz-Abeles, Fine Art, Berlin - Switzerland
Current Exhibition & News
25th of September 2013 Galerie Lange, Berlin
Vernissage: Paintings based on Benjamin Britten's Four Sea Interludes & Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
More information about this project under "projects"
New book available
Britten events worldwide: http://www.britten100.org/whats-going-on/events/worldwide
News:
A CD recording of Viktor Ullmann's Piano Sonatas 5 - 7 by Lala
Isakova is released.
DESSA is featured in the International Contemporary Artists Vol lV published by ICA Publishing, New York. PDF
Biography
Dessa was born Deborah Sharon Abeles in 1948, in Southern Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe). After high school, she lived in Israel from1965 to 1976. The following four years she spent in Paris, and in 1981, moved to Switzerland with her two children.
Of a multi-cultural background, she became a Swiss citizen in 1983. She speaks several languages, which is quite typical of people in her country of adoption. (Switzerland has four national languages). Initially trained as an Occupational Therapist, she took art lessons in Lausanne and had her first exhibition in 1986.
For her new profession, she chose a new name from her initials, and to her surprise found out much later that in Chinese, Dessa means "butterfly". In Hebrew, Deborah means "a bee", so it seems she has followed her destiny, travelling extensively, and in particular to Berlin, her second home.
Dessa integrates her many other interests into her work, including music, history, economics and architecture. She has published books and given several lectures about her work.
She lives in Pully, near Lausanne, with her husband Hervé Petroz.
Exhibitions
Museums and Public Exhibitions
2008 | 20th Festival Anniversary of Krakow Composers – paintings inspired by the music of Messiaen and Ullmann. Exhibiition held in the Centrum Judaicum, Krakow Foyer Amtsgericht, Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgart – DESSA "Land Escapes". Exhibition organised by Irene Schmid, Galerie Kunsthöfle |
2006 | Musée de Pully – "De l’hygiène à l’art" (artist and co-curator of the exhibition) |
2005 | Jüdisches Museum Westfalen, Germany – "A Tribute to Kaufhaus N. Israel 1815 – 1939" Paintings and collages based on Album N. Israel 1912 "Hygiene throughout the Ages" |
2002 | Ghetto Museum, Terezin, Czech rep., exhibition "A Legacy from Theresienstadt" and concert organised by the Terezin Chamber Music Fondation. Exhibition patroned by the Embassy of Switzerland, Prague. Music of Viktor Ullmann and Hans Krasa performed by the Hawthorne Quartet, Boston. |
2001 | College St-Michel, Fribourg – organ concert by René Oberson with simultaneous screen projection of "Turangalîla" paintings. Exhibition of paintings inspired by Oberson’s "Porte Mystique" |
2000 | Musée de Pully, Switzerland – "DESSA : Lyric Abstraction 1990 - 2000" |
Galleries (selection)
2012 | Group Exhibition, JayKay Gallery, Carrouge VD, Switzerland |
2011 | Galerie Petra Lange, Berlin – Compositions» paintings and collages based on Unsuk Chin’s «ParaMetaString» and Detlev Glanert’s «Vergessenes Bild». |
2010 | Gallery JayKay, Carrouge – DESSA 2000 - 2010, retrospective exhibition. «Rythme et rouge» 10th Gallery Anniversary concert with simltaneous performance. Drums and percussion Allison Phillips (London), live painting DESSA, film Bernard Villat. |
2006 | Galerie Bremer, Berlin – «Land Escapes» - 60th Anniversary of Gallery Bremer |
2005 | Galerie Ollier, Fribourg – DESSA et Schwartz: La peinture rencontre la photographie |
2004 | Galerie Bremer, Berlin – collages and paintings «A Tribute to Kaufhaus N. Israel 1815-1939», presentation speech by Dr. Petra Lange, art historian, Galerie de la Source, Lausanne – a selection of collages and paintings |
2001 | «ArtVin, Château d’Allaman» |
1999 | Galerie de Couvaloup, Morges – paintings based on Erich Wolgang Korngold’s «Abschiedslieder» |
1998 | Galerie Aulos Musica, Geneva – «A Legacy from Theresienstadt» |
1997 | Galerie Lilian Andrée, Basel – «A Legacy from Theresienstadt» - paintings from Viktor Ullmann’s Piano Sonata No 7 |
1995 | Galerie Lilian Andrée, Basel – paintings based on Bela Bartok’s»Concerto for Orchestra» Galerie Tribeca, Milan – paintings based on Nino Rota’s «Concero per Archi» Galerie de Couvaloup, Morges – paintings based on Leonard Bernstein’s «Age of Anxiety» |
1994 | Galerie Bremer, Berlin – paintings based on Leonard Bernstein’s «Age of Anxiety» |
1993 | Galerie West, Bern – paintings created in Hangzhou, China, from Chinese music for Er-Hu, a two stringed violin. Expoart, Verona – paintings based on Nino Rota’s «Concerto per Archi» |
1992 | Galerie Lilian Andrée, Basel – paintings based on Olivier Messiaen’s «Turangalîla» Galerie de Couvaloup, Morges – paintings based on Ernest Bloch’s «Schelomo» |
1991 | Galerie West, Bern – paintings based on Gustav Mahler’s «The Song of the Earth» |
1990 | Galerie Chomel, Paris |
Leaflets
DESSA 1990-2000 - Musée de Pully 03/00 - 04/00 (PDF, 8.6 MB)
Publications
2010 | « DESSA - Composition » - Music and painting. Texts Frank Harders-Wuthenow, Dr Petra Lange, Dessa, published in German, English and French |
2006 | « Land Escapes » with poems by Ulrike Hofmann, text Annette Seeler |
2003 | « A Tribute to Kaufhaus N. Israel 1815-1939 » |
1997 | « A Legacy from Theresienstadt » published in English, French and German . Text : Cornelis Witthoefft - on the Finale of Viktor Ullmann’s Piano Sonata no 7 |
1992 | Exhibition catalogue « Turangalîla », text Simon Vermot |
Awards
1995 | Leone d'Oro, Venice, Italy |
Lectures
2004 | “A Tribute to Kaufhaus N. Israel”, Geneva |
1999 | “A Legacy from Theresienstadt” Holocaust Commemorative, Appalachian State University, North Carolina, USA (with slides and CD) |
1998 | “A Legacy from Theresienstadt” lecture with slides of the paintings and CD of Viktor Ullmann’s music given in Verona, Lausanne, Geneva, Pully and Montreux |
Miscellaneous
2011 | Cooperation with Lala Isakova, CD Project, Press article |
2008 | Painting “In the autumn of my life” - front cover of « Miraflores » poems by Leopoldo Chariarse, (Spanish & German) Rimbaud Verlag |
2007 | Kalenderfest, Ruksaldruck, Berlin |
2006 | Westfalen Jüdisches Museum – Kunst und Musik “A Legacy from Theresienastadt” |
2004 | Patricia Corbett Theater, Cincinnati – play reading by CCM with screen projections of paintings from “A Legacy from Theresienstadt” |
2001 | Wine bottle label “ArtVin 2000” for Société Vinicole Perroy |
1994 | Painting for front cover CD “Gloria Sepharadica” prod. S. Bernheim |