Abstract Expressionist oil painting by Austrian-born, Brooklyn artist Frederick Terna entitled "Radiant Pledge" circa 1970's in recessed wood frame trimmed in brass-tone metal.

Fred Terna (October 8, 1923 – December 8, 2022) was a Holocaust survivor and painter living and working in Brooklyn, NY. Terna was born in Vienna, and lived in Prague from 1926-1940. From 1941-1945, he was an inmate in German concentration camps, among them Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Dachau. Terna moved to Paris in 1946 and informally studied at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere and the Academie Julien, where he was inspired by the work of the Cubists and post-Impressionists.

After eventually settling in New York in 1952, Terna elaborated on the prevailing modes of Abstract Expressionism with a personal style that infused textural elements into his compositions. Using folded canvas, sand, and pebbles, Terna sought to activate the tactile senses, layering fields of depth and creating visual tricks. Terna’s canvases seek to address the psychological space of trauma, often incorporating the charged symbols of chimneys and ash to abstract effect.

Over the course of his 60 year career, Terna lectured extensively and exhibited his work in numerous solo and group shows. His work is included in a variety of private and public collections including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; The Albertina Collection, Vienna, AT; The Ghetto Fighters’ House, Western Galilee, IL; and Yad Vashem Museum, Jerusalem, IL.

Recent solo exhibitions were at the Czech Center Gallery, New York, NY (2022); 321 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2018); the Museum of Arts and Culture at New Rochelle High School, New Rochelle, NY (2017); St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY (2017); and a solo booth with 321 Gallery at the NADA New York Art Fair (2016). Recent group shows took place at Jack Barrett (2019) and the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (2017), both New York, NY.