Gunderson’s work also evokes a strong emotional response.  Most of her pieces are done in charcoal, chalk and black paint, and much of it is monumental in scale.  One piece, “Night Passage to Sweden,” is 11 feet long.  Of special note is an environmental piece depicting the four navigational directions as if looking out from inside one of the small fishing boats used to ferry Danish Jews to safety.
        
The four works will be installed in a small enclosure, actually giving the viewer the sensation of being inside a boat on that fateful night in 1943.

Gunderson also painted Bulgarian citizens who protested and demonstrated against anti-Semitic laws in their country can actually helped to influence the government to delay the deportation of the Jews as demanded by the Nazis.  She also depicts King Boris III of Bulgaria, who defied his Nazi allies in several key areas, including the surrendering of his nation’s Jews.

Her painting depicts the darkness of his collaboration with the Nazis, while at the same time evoking his humanity and caring for all his citizens.

The show will be on view in the Josef and Edith Mineberg Gallery through July 31.  For information, call the museum, 713/942-8000, ext. 112.  A related public program, “The Rescue of Bulgaria’s Jews,” will come to the museum June 3.