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Read the press release here.

Veteran Creates Art Exhibit Memorializing World War II

"USS Reid, 2012" by George Klauba [National Veterans Art Museum]

PORTAGE PARK — A solo exhibit by a retired veteran of the Navy set to open Aug. 26 at the National Veterans Art Museum is dedicated to those who were deeply affected by World War II, organizers said.

The exhibit will feature two series of paintings by George Klauba, who was a child during the aftermath of World War II. After growing up surrounded by items brought back from battlefields, Klauba gained an understanding as an adult of "the sorrow and loss experienced by both sides," exhibit organizers said.

Klauba said he considers the paintings in the "Nerves on Fire: Reflections on WWII" series to be memorials dedicated to the men and women who were deeply affected by World War II.

Klauba and museum Executive Director Brendan Foster will speak at a reception scheduled to take place from 6-9 p.m. Aug. 26 to celebrate the opening of the exhibit at the museum, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave.

The exhibit will also include Klauba's "Cuba: Rebels, Orishas & 26 Julio" series of paintings inspired by his monthlong deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, organizers said.

"In the Land of the Proletariat, 2014" by George Klauba [National Veterans Art Museum]

"His personal accounts and first-hand understanding of the political atmosphere of the time lays the contextual foundation for the unique mix of factual and fantastical imagery found in this series," Foster said in a statement.

Both series "offer a glimpse into the way in which military service has both defined the artist’s life and driven decades of contemplation about the impact that war has had on his and others’ lives," Foster said.

The museum is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Admission is free. For more information, call 312-326-0270 or go to nvam.org.

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