Paul Thek

(American, 1933–1988)

Paul Thek was an American artist known for his eclectic paintings, sculptures, video, and performance work. Throughout his practice, Thek combined elements of art history, existential anxiety, and contemporary culture into art that posed both formal and conceptual questions. “I sometimes think that there is nothing but time,” the artist once said, “that what you see and what you feel is what time looks like at that moment." Born on November 2, 1933 in Brooklyn, NY, he studied at the Art Students League, Pratt Institute, and Cooper Union School of the Arts in New York. He began collaborating with conceptual artists in the early 1960s, including Eva Hesse and Peter Hujar, and gained critical attention in the American art scene before moving to Europe in 1962. Living in Italy for much of the 1970s, Thek began producing his most iconic works: The Technological Reliquaries, wax sculptures of body parts displayed in Plexiglas vitrines. By his 1976 return to New York, Thek had lost the critical support he had once enjoyed, and would go on to live in relative anonymity and poverty until his death from an AIDS-related illness on August 10, 1988 at the age of 54. Posthumously, Thek’s work has received widespread acclaim, notably the Diver, A Retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2010. His work has also been the subject of solo exhibitions at The Met Breuer, Malborough Chelsea, and Andrea Rosen, among others.

Paul Thek Artworks

Paul Thek (107 results)

Untitled (Coast), 1970

Paul Thek

Untitled (Coast), 1970

The Mayor Gallery

Price on Request

Untitled (Sea), 1970

Paul Thek

Untitled (Sea), 1970

The Mayor Gallery

Price on Request

UNTITLED, ca. 1969

Paul Thek

UNTITLED, ca. 1969

Price on Request

Untitled (The Personal Effects of the Pied..., 1976

Paul Thek

Untitled (The Personal Effects of the Pied..., 1976

Sale Date: March 9, 2024

Auction Closed

Untitled (Hand Drawing), 1972

Paul Thek

Untitled (Hand Drawing), 1972

Sale Date: December 19, 2023

Auction Closed

Hurrah Vacuii!!, 1988

Paul Thek

Hurrah Vacuii!!, 1988

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Cityscape), 1986

Paul Thek

Untitled (Cityscape), 1986

Sale Date: June 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Cityscape), 1986

Paul Thek

Untitled (Cityscape), 1986

Sale Date: June 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (Beach Grass), 1986

Paul Thek

Untitled (Beach Grass), 1986

Sale Date: June 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Fish, 1970

Paul Thek

Sale Date: March 9, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (cityscape), 1986

Paul Thek

Untitled (cityscape), 1986

Sale Date: March 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (beach with figures), 1986

Paul Thek

Untitled (beach with figures), 1986

Sale Date: March 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (cityscape), 1986

Paul Thek

Untitled (cityscape), 1986

Sale Date: March 1, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (10/1/75), 1975

Paul Thek

Untitled (10/1/75), 1975

Sale Date: December 20, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1970

Paul Thek

Untitled, 1970

Sale Date: December 20, 2022

Auction Closed

28 Paul Thek Etchings, 1975–1992

Paul Thek

28 Paul Thek Etchings, 1975–1992

Sale Date: December 3, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Cell), 1984

Paul Thek

Untitled (Cell), 1984

Sale Date: December 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Spinning Top, 1969

Paul Thek

Spinning Top, 1969

Sale Date: December 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Cityscape), 1987

Paul Thek

Untitled (Cityscape), 1987

Sale Date: December 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Selfportrait, Ponza, Oct. 1970), 1970

Paul Thek

Untitled (Selfportrait, Ponza, Oct. 1970), 1970

Sale Date: December 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Indoor Window, 1983

Paul Thek

Indoor Window, 1983

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Water Towers), 1983

Paul Thek

Untitled (Water Towers), 1983

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Avoid Caesar and Stylistic Decisions (diptych), 1979

Paul Thek

Avoid Caesar and Stylistic Decisions (diptych), 1979

Sale Date: September 24, 2022

Auction Closed

Fireflies, 1979

Paul Thek

Fireflies, 1979

Sale Date: June 30, 2022

Auction Closed

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English (US)

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