Paul Resika's Dual Exhibition Explores Geometric Abstraction and Seascapes at New York Galleries

Paul Resika presented two concurrent exhibitions in New York City during spring 2018. Bookstein Projects hosted "Paul Resika: Geometry and the Sea" from April 19 to May 26 at 60 East 66th Street, while Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects showed related works from April 18 to May 20 at 208 Forsyth Street. The exhibitions featured recent paintings from 2017 that juxtapose Cape Cod seascapes with geometric forms like pyramids and triangles against sky backgrounds. Resika, who studied with Hans Hofmann in the mid-twentieth century, demonstrates a dramatic transformation in his work at age ninety, moving toward abstraction while maintaining figurative elements. The shows include works such as Triangle-Sun (2017), Rose Dawn (2017), A Quiet Romance (2017) depicting a conch shell, and Self-Portrait with Rag (2017). These paintings present what the reviewer describes as a "strange juxtaposition" of figurative and abstract elements that challenge traditional pictorial representation. The exhibitions complement MoMA's "the long run" display running through November 4, 2018, which features artists like Lee Bontecou, Elizabeth Murray, and Frank Stella who continued evolving after their breakthroughs. Resika's Cape Cod studio provides inspiration for seascapes that form the background for his geometric interventions. The artist's approach is discussed in relation to Ernst Gombrich's theories in Art and Illusion (1960) about pictorial representation and "the scrambling of clues" in modern art.