DRAWING THROUGH IT: Artschwager, Bochner, Le Va, Lewitt, Maher, Rockburne, Sandback, Siena, Joan Snitzer, Taylor, Tuttle, Winters
Minimalism is the thread running through the exhibition, with each artist responding to the sparse aesthetics and hard logic of this late 60's movement. Characterized by objective and highly rationalized modes of conceptual art making (i.e. generation of repetitive, hard, geometric forms, establishment of rules and abstract formulas to determine composition, emphasis on materials and time, etc.), Minimalism left some artists eager to embrace its aesthetics but at the same time eschew the impersonal, detached nature of the style in search of a more spontaneous and intuitive approach. The medium of drawing, long associated with simplicity, directness, and immediacy, lends itself to well to the rigor of Minimalism while at the same time allowing more freedom for expression and open-ended process. Many of the artists presented here also work in media other than drawing: Artschwager, Le Va, Lewitt, Sandback, Taylor and Tuttle are known for their sculpture; Bochner, Rockburne, Siena, and Winters are also known for their paintings. These drawings are not merely studies or plans for sculpture and painting; rather, they document art making as a form of meditation and creative self-realization, acting as mappings of thought.