At a glance
Si Lewen’s sequence of silent drawings transforms a formal military procession into a stark, visceral chronicle of wartime collapse and the haunting reality of the Holocaust.
Meet the artist
Why go
This presentation offers a rare encounter with a complete visual novel. Lewen’s sixty-three drawings distill his firsthand experience of Buchenwald into a powerful, wordless narrative that remains devastatingly relevant today.
You'll see
Marching figures · Ink and charcoal battle scenes · Postwar ruins · Expressive studies of grief
Pace of visit
The sequential nature of these sixty-three drawings requires a steady, focused pace to appreciate the unfolding story.
Don't miss
The transition from organized pageantry to chaotic destruction, where the artist's line becomes increasingly fractured and urgent.
Artlovers Tip
Approach the installation as you would a book; the emotional impact depends entirely on viewing the drawings in their intended chronological order.
Inside the exhibition
There Are No Words — Si Lewen’s Parade at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, New York, presents a haunting series of works-on-paper by the Polish-American artist. The installation focuses on a single, cohesive narrative cycle created in the aftermath of World War II. Through a progression of monochrome drawings, Lewen captures the transformation of military enthusiasm into the grim consequences of conflict.
The exhibition features sixty-three individual works rendered in charcoal, pencil, and ink. These pieces function as a visual novel, tracing a path from the rhythmic display of marching soldiers to the harrowing ruins of battle and the profound sorrow of survivors. The imagery is deeply informed by Lewen's personal history as a soldier who witnessed the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp.
This presentation matters for its raw, unfiltered look at historical trauma through the lens of postwar narrative art. By stripping away text and color, the display emphasizes the cumulative emotional weight of the sequence. It offers visitors a chance to engage with a graphic memoir that predates the modern graphic novel, serving as both a historical document and a timeless protest against violence.
Worth travelling for?
A compact but emotionally heavy exhibition that provides a profound, wordless reflection on 20th-century history and the enduring psychological scars of war.
There Are No Words — Si Lewen’s Parade
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