Drawing: The Beginning of Everything

Saturday, July 8, 2017–Sunday, October 15, 2017

1905 Building

The notion that drawing is simply a preparatory stage for painting or sculpture has long since been cast aside. The act of placing a pen or pencil to a surface is, for many artists, both a formative and driving experience. With an emphasis on works created within the last 30 years, Drawing: The Beginning of Everything is the first Albright-Knox exhibition to highlight this area of the museum’s collection.

The approaches of contemporary artists to the medium are increasingly rooted in concepts, characteristics, and meditative techniques that result in compelling and intensely personal imagery. Their varied practices promote mark-making as a constructive exploration of surface, space, composition, and scale. Additionally, this exhibition considers the ways in which drawing is employed as a means to push the boundaries that traditionally separate one artistic discipline from another by expanding beyond the page and into the realms of performance, photography, sculpture, film, and video.

Mark Fox (American, born 1963). *Untitled (Fault)*, 2008. Ink on paper, linen tape, and metal pins, 50 x 131 x 11 inches (127 x 332.7 x 27.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Elisabeth H. Gates, James G. Forsyth and Edmund Hayes Funds, 2009 (2009:14). © 2008 Mark Fox.

Kelly Wallace's Medium Rare, 2014 — Kelly Wallace (Canadian, born 1968). *Medium Rare*, 2014. Lead on paper, 45 x 72 inches (114.3 x 182.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of A. Conger Goodyear, by exchange, 2015 (2015:22). © 2014 Kelly Wallace.

Ingrid Calame's #313 Drawing (Tracings from Buffalo, NY), 2008 — Ingrid Calame (American, born 1965). *#313 Drawing (Tracings from Buffalo, NY)*, 2008. Colored pencil on trace Mylar, 112 x 72 inches (284.5 x 182.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; George B. and Jenny R. Mathews Fund, by exchange, 2010 (2010:6). © 2008 Ingrid Calame. Image courtesy of the artist.

David Hammons's Basketball Drawing, 2001 — David Hammons (American, born 1943). *Basketball Drawing*, 2001. Harlem earth on paper and found suitcase; drawing: 119 1/2 x 49 x 1 5/8 inches (303.5 x 124.5 x 4.1 cm) framed, suitcase: 19 1/4 x 26 3/4 x 7 inches (48.9 x 67.9 x 17.8 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; George B. and Jenny R. Mathews Fund, 2001 (2001:9a-b). © David Hammons.

William Mackrell's Gulp, 2016 — William Mackrell (British, born 1983). *Gulp*, 2016. Etching in digital print mounted on aluminum panel, 28 x 35 inches (71.1 x 88.9 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Pending Acquisition Funds, 2017 (2017:10). © 2016 William Mackrell.

Nancy Rubins (American, born 1952). Drawing, 2007 — Nancy Rubins (American, born 1952). *Drawing*, 2007. Graphite on paper, 139 x 121 inches (353.1 x 307.3 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of the artist and George B. and Jenny R. Mathews Fund, by exchange, 2011 (2011:50). © 2007 Nancy Rubins.

Artists featured include Ingrid Calame (American, born 1965), Tacita Dean (British, born 1965), Olafur Eliasson (Icelandic, born 1967), Ellen Gallagher (American, born 1965), Roland Flexner (American, born France, 1944), Mark Fox (American, born 1963), David Hammons (American, born 1943), Nancy Rubins (American, born 1952), Fred Sandback (American, 1943–2003), Tam Van Tran (American, born Vietnam, 1966), and Daniel Zeller (American, born 1965), among others.