Gallery Talk: Rachel Harrison and Elisabeth Sussman on the legacy of Paul Thek
Jan 31, 2011
From left, exhibition co-curator Elisabeth Sussman and artist Rachel Harrison discuss Paul Thek’s Burning Book (1975), January 2011. Photograph by Tiffany Oelfke
On January 6, as a part of the Whitney’s public program, Conversations on Art, exhibition co-curator Elisabeth Sussman and artist Rachel Harrison led a walkthrough of Paul Thek: Diver, a Retrospective. Their tour focused on Thek’s life and development as an artist. Harrison and Sussman’s contrasting perspectives made for a lively and informative program—more of a dialogue than a lecture. Harrison began the talk by declaring that “we have no ego in this, it’s just for fun.”
As Sussman led the tour, the audience moved through the galleries following Thek’s artistic journey, beginning with his grotesque yet strangely appealing sculptures of meat called Technological Reliquaries, continuing through his time spent in Europe creating installations, and ending with his return to the United States and untimely death due to complications from AIDS. Sussman provided detailed explanations of Thek’s personal history and the back stories of each piece while Harrison shed light on his artistic processes and intentions.
Audience among Paul Thek’s Technological Reliquaries, January 2011. Photograph by Tiffany Oelfke
Sussman and Harrison concluded that Thek’s work is representative of his constant, spiritual search for meaning. In the final gallery, an installation of markedly tranquil works from Thek’s last exhibition provided hope that the artist found some spiritual peace at the end of his life.
By Alex Kelly, Education intern