Number 66

Milton Resnick, a pioneer of Abstract Expressionism, offered a great deal of innovation, intensity, and commitment to the genre. His formless paintings allude to the idea that words and perhaps images are insufficient in the face of pure emotion. To circumvent the disparity between words/images and meaning Resnick pursued feeling through abstraction. It might be said that Resnick's painting practice was an exercise in spirituality, bringing him closer to what he believed to be the ultimate experience. Resnick said, "What you have to do is disavow yourself from any sense other than ascendancy. That's the only direction you could possibly have towards painting. There's no other direction at all. There's no other space in art. There's no other way in which you can find yourself except in somehow feeling it."