A female form folds over her left side, bowing her head and appearing neither rested nor restless.

Artist: Gizel Berman

Medium: Bronze

Year: 1983 (Acquired 2011)

Acquisition: Donated to the City of Mercer Island by Dr. Gian-Emilio Chatrian

Dr. Gian-Emilio Chatrian donated this abstract bronze sculpture to the City in 2011. Chatrian was a Mercer Island resident and a close friend of the sculptor, Gizel Berman.

Gizel Berman (1919-2002) was a long-time Mercer Island resident and well-known sculptor. Born in Czechoslovakia, she came to the United States in 1946 after she and her husband survived the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. That horrific experience drove Berman to use her voice as an artist to inspire hope and ensure that no one ever forgot the atrocities perpetrated during the Holocaust. Her most well-known work is the Holocaust Memorial installed at the Stroum Jewish Community Center. The piece features bronze letters forming the Hebrew phrase “Lo Tishkach,” which means, “Thou shalt not forget,” and a wall of names of some victims of the Holocaust. In 1999, Berman published her memoir My Three Lives: A Story of Love, War and Survival, and delivered her message, “Never forget, but live in hope,” in frequent talks at schools, universities, churches, and other community centers.

Reclining Woman was the third Gizel Berman sculpture acquired by the City. The public art collection also includes Introspection (1982), installed at the Mercer Island Library, and Fire Flower (1983), a 9-foot sculpture awaiting reinstallation in Town Center.