Paul Thek: A Sculptor of Flesh, Memory, and the Ephemeral Paul Thek (November 2, 1933 – August 10, 1988) remains a profoundly enigmatic figure in American art, a sculptor whose work defies easy categorization yet resonates with an unsettling honesty. Born George Joseph Thek in Brooklyn, New York, his trajectory from a relatively conventional early artistic education to the creation of intensely personal and often disturbing installati…