THE SOUTHEASTERN CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART PRESENTS...

drawn:

concept & craft

EXHIBITION ON VIEW THROUGH FEBRUARY 14, 2021

SECCA proudly presents DRAWN: Concept & Craft, an expansive exhibition featuring more than 200 works by a wide array of artists including LeRoy Neiman, Kara Walker, Fab 5 Freddy, Kiki Smith, Kambui Olujimi and Buckminster Fuller. DRAWN brings together the diverse works of over 60 artists from around the world in an exhibition that provides a rare, revealing look into the creative process and artists’ unique relationship with the art of drawing.

DRAWN is curated by project founder TOMAS VU and SECCA Curator WENDY EARLE with the assistance of BRIAN NOVATNY.

Alex Kvares, 'Red Hat/White Bandaids', 2016

Dana Sherwood, 'Inside the Belly of a Swan', 2020

Thomas Frontini, 'Hermit Painter’s Retrospective Exhibition 2', 2020

WHAT DOES DRAWING MEAN TO YOU?

Forgotten Sketchbooks Ask Fascinating Questions

The concept of DRAWN began with the discovery of several sketchbooks that no one knew existed, excavated from the late LeRoy Neiman’s New York studio after the artist’s passing. The stark difference between the drawings covering the pages of a sketchbook compared to the characteristically jocular and proud imagery of Neiman’s paintings is jarring. In these sketchbooks, gone are the bright and impressionistic illustrations of celebratory moments. Instead, we find weighty depictions of struggle and pain in the visages of Malcolm X, Cassius Clay and James Baldwin, revealing a completely diverging, hidden side of the famed artist.

This discovery led Tomas Vu, founder of DRAWN, to then ask, "how many more of these kinds of artists sketchbooks are out there? And, where does the artistic mind go in the absence of outside pressures, expectations, and interpretation?"

LeRoy Neiman, 'Martin Luther King Jr.'s Funeral Procession', 1968

LeRoy Neiman, 'Malcolm X and Cassius Clay 1964', 1964-1965

LeRoy Neiman, 'Cassius Clay and Malcolm X', 1964-1965

LeRoy Neiman, 'White Only / Colored Only', c. 1960

DRAWN expands the very idea of drawing. What began with the beautiful simplicity of two-dimensional works has now evolved to include animation, video projection, sculpture, collage, and cut-paper. “Every work of art in this exhibition is the artist’s direct or indirect answer to the question of ‘What does drawing mean to you?’” says SECCA Curator Wendy Earle. “For some it’s about process, for others it’s about form. Some artists are additive, and some are subtractive.”

While the works seen in DRAWN may have moved beyond the intimacy of hidden sketchbooks, a common thread is apparent between past and present exhibition iterations. DRAWN brings into focus the inescapable moment of putting pen to paper, literal or figurative, whether for a casual sketch or the beginning of something larger.

NEW YORK → BEIJING → BOSTON → SERBIA → PHILIPPINES → WINSTON-SALEM

Drawn to the South

Since its inception in 2014, DRAWN has engaged audiences in galleries and museums around the world, from Beijing and Dali City to the Philippines and Serbia. The exhibition is unique in that each presenting institution curates local artists to present their work alongside the existing collection. What once started with a handful of artists has grown into a robust collection of more than 60 artists and 200 works.

“The history of Black Mountain College in North Carolina really drew me to the idea of exhibiting this show with the community at SECCA,” says Tomas Vu. “One of my favorite artists in this show, Buckminister Fuller, emerged from combining craft and conceptual art in a way that speaks to the mission of Black Mountain and the work of the local artists in the show.”

Buckminster Fuller, 'Dymaxion Dwelling Machine Wichita House', 1981

Curator Wendy Earle notes: “This is a timely show, with many works created in 2020 and in direct response to the rapidly changing world around us. Drawing is a fundamental part of art-making, and is a broad creative act rather than a specific medium.”

EXPLORE THE ARTISTS

DRAWN: Concept & Craft ARTIST LIST:

Elizabeth Alexander
Yasi Alipour
Ghada Amer & Reza Farkondeh
Sanford Biggers
Natalie Birinyi
Paul Bright
Phong Bui
Esteban Cabeza de Baca
Frank Campion
Nathan Catlin
Alejandro Contreras
William Cordova
Steven Cozart
Predrag Dimitrijevic
Mark Dion
Rafael Domenech
Riaki Enyama
Megan Foster
Fab Five Freddy
Thomas Frontini
Buckminster Fuller
Ian Gerson
Baris Gokturk

Heather Gordon
Leigh Ann Hallberg
Trenton Doyle Hancock
Krystal Hart
Scott Hazard
Travis Head
Heidi Howard
José Iraola
Mark Iwinski
Kurt Kemp
Dan Kennedy
William Kentridge
Laleh Khorramian
Alex Kvares
Dr. Lakra
Fred Liang
Nicola Lopez
Kreh Mellick
LeRoy Neiman
Shirin Neshat
Brian Novatny
Jennifer Nuss

Kambui Olujimi
Ernesto Oroza
Aga Ousseinov
Christine Rebet
Adrian Rhodes
Dana Sherwood
Luis Silva
Kiki Smith
Damian Stamer
Leigh Suggs
Stipan Tadic
Rirkrit Tiravanija
Ali Van & Wang Xu
Tomas Vu
Kara Walker
Kyle Webster
Antoine Williams
Beau Willimon
Paula Wilson
Sun Xun
Shahar Yahalom
Yuan Zuo

Steven Cozart, 'I Am Not What You Think: The Johncarlos Miller Statement', 2017

Leigh Suggs, 'Round and Round III', 2020

Elizabeth Alexander, 'Welders Daughter: Safe and Powerless- The Waiting Room', 2011-2020

Kreh Mellick, 'Spreading In All Directions', 2020

EXPERIENCE THE EXHIBITION

Plan Your Visit

DRAWN: Concept & Craft is on view September 16, 2020 through February 14, 2021. Admission is free, with a $10 suggested donation.

The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art is open Wednesday through Sunday. Visit SECCA.org for opening hours and more information.

DRAWN is made possible in part by the generous support of The LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation.

SECCA is an affiliate of the North Carolina Museum of Art and a division of the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. SECCA receives operational funding from The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. Additional funding is provided by the James G. Hanes Memorial Fund.

The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art
750 Marguerite Drive
Winston-Salem, NC 27106

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