Experience Milton Resnick’s Paintings in a Former Lower East Side Synagogue

Starting full-time in September, the Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation will open a new exhibition in Resnick’s former Lower East Side studio – which was once a synagogue – featuring Resnick’s work from 1937-1987. The exhibition, aptly titled “Milton Resnick Paintings 1937-1987,” will feature works on loan from institutions such as The Smithsonian and The Met, as well as from private collections. It is open currently for limited previews by appointment.

The space, which was previously a Jewish synagogue, has been modernized to accommodate gallery crowds, but the stunning 20-foot high rose windows and exposed brick interior of the space have been preserved. A small room on the upper level has been made to recreate Resnick’s studio, complete with easels, paints, figurines, brushes, and posters. The rest of the spacious building is done up a in modern white-walled gallery-style with Resnick’s canvases hanging on most of the walls.

Resnick with his piece, “Storage” (1958)-Image via The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation

Resnick in his studio on Broadway (1960)-Image via The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation

Resnick, an Abstract-Expressionist painter born in 1917 in what is now the Ukraine, emigrated with his family to Brooklyn as a young child. He later attended the Pratt Institute to become a commercial artist. In the late 1930’s, Milton became a founding member of an artists’ den called “The Club” at the Waldorf Cafeteria on Sixth Ave. and Eighth Street. Other founding members of the club included Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline. In 1955, after fighting in World War II and living in Paris, Resnick had his first solo art show at the Poindexter Gallery in New York, which launched him into the mainstream contemporary art scene.

Resnick, “Untitled” (1955)-Image via The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation

In 1976, Resnick purchased the synagogue at 87 Eldridge Street on the Lower East Side, because the price was low, while the ceilings and doorways were high enough to accommodate his larger canvases. He lived and worked there until his death in 2004.

Resnick’s works were famously enormous, with some of his paintings weighing several hundred pounds, and his largest piece, “Swan” (1961) clocking in at 25 feet long. Among the famous pieces now hanging in the new gallery  are “Hearts and Darts” (1958), and “Edna” (1973).

Image by Brian Buckley via The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation

Image by Brian Buckley via The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation

Image by Brian Buckley via The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation

The exhibition officially opens on September 15th and 16th, but the Foundation has invited the public to preview the exhibition on Thursdays and Fridays from 11AM-6PM, by appointment via the Foundation’s website.

Next, check out 50 NYC Outdoor Art Installations Not to Miss in August 2018, and Attend the Opening Reception of an Exhibition about NYC’s Historic Storefronts.