Illuminations 1959

Richard Florsheim’s “Illuminations” is a lithograph – or maybe several, layered one on top of the other – that gives us this shimmering cityscape, or is it a seascape? Look at the way the light flickers and bounces, especially in the lower half, where it gets all choppy and indistinct. He’s not trying to give us a clear picture, but more of a feeling, a vibe. There's a push and pull here between representation and abstraction. It reminds me of how you see a city at night, all hazy and dreamlike, like a memory fading in and out. The texture of the lithographic crayon gives it a real tactile quality. This piece is like a conversation between Whistler’s nocturnes and some of the early abstract expressionist paintings. It shows how art builds on what came before, twisting and turning old ideas into something new. It’s not about answers, but about questions, possibilities, and the sheer joy of looking.