Resia Schor
Encyclopedia
Resia Schor was a Polish-born artist who lived and worked in New York City from 1941 until her death in 2006.
; they were married in Paris at the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1941 they came to the United States and settled in New York City. Both Schors’ extended families perished in the Holocaust. The Schors had two daughters born in New York City: artist and writer Mira Schor
and scholar of French literature and feminist theory, Naomi Schor
. Mrs. Schor exhibited her paintings in New York City in the 1950s under the name Resia Ain; she also studied silversmithing with her husband.
The noted poet Richard Howard wrote of Schor’s work: “…the underlying signification … that Resia Schor has undertaken all along. If I had to find a single word for it, I should choose process, the continuous process of growth and change which we recognize in all plant forms and which we cannot dissect or paralyze to any purpose by “realism.”… Process is what Goethe meant when he had Faust exclaim, gazing at the sign of the Macrocosm:
Wie alles sich zum Ganzen webt,
Eins in dem andern wirkt und lebt!
How everything is woven into the whole;
Each in the other works and lives! […]
Speaking of the Macrocosm, we are reminded, indeed, that the Ancients used to represent the earth as the back of an immense turtle, all things that live and grow sending down their roots into the great participating shell which bears them into the empty air. That is what these recent pieces of Resia Schor suggest, and if in their articulation of process we can only call them abstract, then it is the abstraction of energy itself her pieces display, ‘the force that through the green fuse drives the flower.’”
She exhibited her works in solo exhibitions at the Arras Gallery in New York City, The East End Gallery in Provincetown, MA, and The Benson Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York. In the 1980s and 1990s, her work was included in group exhibitions at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) and in the exhibition Family, at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
in Connecticut. In the late 1960s and the 1970s, her work was included in exhibitions including "The Women's Art Symposium," Turman Gallery, Indiana State University," Made in Metal," The Junior Art Gallery, Louisville, KY, "National Jewelry Exhibition by Outstanding Contemporary American Artist–Craftsmen," Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, "First Survey of Contemporary American Crafts," The University Art Museum, The University of Texas, Austin, and "Crafts Invitational," The Gallery of the Maryland Institute, Baltimore, MD.
In 1969, the musicians of the orchestra of the New York Philharmonic
commissioned a mezuzah by Resia Schor as their farewell gift to Leonard Bernstein
. An exhibition “Mezuzot by Resia Schor” was held at Yeshiva University
Museum in New York City in 2000.
Early life
Resia Schor was born near Lublin, Poland in 1910. She studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. There she met the painter and sculptor Ilya SchorIlya Schor
Ilya Schor was a multi-faceted artist, a painter, jeweler, engraver, sculptor, and renowned artist of Judaica.- Early life :...
; they were married in Paris at the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1941 they came to the United States and settled in New York City. Both Schors’ extended families perished in the Holocaust. The Schors had two daughters born in New York City: artist and writer Mira Schor
Mira Schor
Mira Schor is an American artist, writer, editor, and educator, known for her contributions to the critical discourse on the status of painting in contemporary art and culture as well as to feminist art history and criticism.-Early life and education:Mira Schor's parents Ilya and Resia Schor were...
and scholar of French literature and feminist theory, Naomi Schor
Naomi Schor
Naomi Schor was a noted literary critic and theorist. A pioneer of feminist theory for her generation, she is regarded as one of the foremost scholars of French literature and critical theory of her time...
. Mrs. Schor exhibited her paintings in New York City in the 1950s under the name Resia Ain; she also studied silversmithing with her husband.
Later work
After Ilya Schor’s death in 1961, Resia Schor worked exclusively in metal, creating one of a kind jewelry and Judaica, as well as multi-media sculptures, all in a bold modernist abstract style with a painterly feel for color and texture.The noted poet Richard Howard wrote of Schor’s work: “…the underlying signification … that Resia Schor has undertaken all along. If I had to find a single word for it, I should choose process, the continuous process of growth and change which we recognize in all plant forms and which we cannot dissect or paralyze to any purpose by “realism.”… Process is what Goethe meant when he had Faust exclaim, gazing at the sign of the Macrocosm:
Wie alles sich zum Ganzen webt,
Eins in dem andern wirkt und lebt!
How everything is woven into the whole;
Each in the other works and lives! […]
Speaking of the Macrocosm, we are reminded, indeed, that the Ancients used to represent the earth as the back of an immense turtle, all things that live and grow sending down their roots into the great participating shell which bears them into the empty air. That is what these recent pieces of Resia Schor suggest, and if in their articulation of process we can only call them abstract, then it is the abstraction of energy itself her pieces display, ‘the force that through the green fuse drives the flower.’”
She exhibited her works in solo exhibitions at the Arras Gallery in New York City, The East End Gallery in Provincetown, MA, and The Benson Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York. In the 1980s and 1990s, her work was included in group exhibitions at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) and in the exhibition Family, at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located in Ridgefield, Connecticut, USA. The Aldrich has no permanent collection. It is one of the United States's leading contemporary art galleries and special exhibition spaces . The museum is an international leader in museum education .The Aldrich was...
in Connecticut. In the late 1960s and the 1970s, her work was included in exhibitions including "The Women's Art Symposium," Turman Gallery, Indiana State University," Made in Metal," The Junior Art Gallery, Louisville, KY, "National Jewelry Exhibition by Outstanding Contemporary American Artist–Craftsmen," Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, "First Survey of Contemporary American Crafts," The University Art Museum, The University of Texas, Austin, and "Crafts Invitational," The Gallery of the Maryland Institute, Baltimore, MD.
In 1969, the musicians of the orchestra of the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
commissioned a mezuzah by Resia Schor as their farewell gift to Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
. An exhibition “Mezuzot by Resia Schor” was held at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
Museum in New York City in 2000.