Drawing Center

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The Drawing Center
The Drawing Center at 40 Wooster Street
Map
Established1977
Location35 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10013
Coordinates40°43′21″N 74°00′10″W / 40.722444°N 74.002884°W / 40.722444; -74.002884
TypeArt, Special Interest[1]
DirectorLaura Hoptman[2]
Websitewww.drawingcenter.org Edit this at Wikidata

The Drawing Center is a museum and a nonprofit exhibition space in Manhattan, New York City, that focuses on the exhibition of drawings, both historical and contemporary.

History

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The Drawing Center was founded by former assistant curator of drawings at the Museum of Modern Art Martha Beck[3] in 1977, with the mandate of seeking to "express the quality and diversity of drawing -- unique works on paper -- as a major art form".[4] It was originally housed in $900-a-month ground-floor space in a warehouse at 137 Greene Street in SoHo[3] before it moved to its present location, on the ground floor of a 19th-century cast-iron-fronted building at 35 Wooster Street, in the late 1980s.[5] In its first year, the Drawing Center attracted 125,000 visitors.[3]

After a $10 million renovation in 2012, designed by Claire Weisz of WXY Architecture & Urban Design, the museum today occupies two and a half floors, 50 percent more exhibition space.[6]

Activities

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Each year, the center presents "Selections" exhibitions featuring the work of emerging artists as well as exhibitions of historical and contemporary drawing-based work. In conjunction with its interior expansion in 2012, the Drawing Center announced the start of a long-term initiative to exhibit Latin American drawing.[7] The Drawing Room, located across the street from the Main Gallery, features dynamic, drawing-based installations and exhibitions by emerging and under-recognized artists. The center offers a range of public programs for both adults and children, including film screenings, literary readings, artist talks, symposia, performances, and The Big Draw, a day-long event or series of events featuring artist-led drawing activities for all ages.

List of shows

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Before 2010

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  • Leon Golub: Live & Die Like a Lion?
  • Selections Spring 2010: Sea Marks
  • Sun Xun: Shock of Time
  • Apparently Invisible: Selections Spring 2009
  • Matt Mullican: A Drawing Translates the Way of Thinking
  • M/M (Paris): Just Like an Ant Walking on the Edge of the Visible
  • Greta Magnusson Grossman: Furniture and Lighting
  • Rirkrit Tiravanija: Demonstration Drawings
  • Kathleen Henderson: What If I Could Draw a Bird That Could Change the World?
  • Drawing on Film
  • Frederick Kiesler: Co-Realities
  • Yüksel Arslan: Visual Interpretations
  • Drawing Out: Student Artwork from Drawing Connections
  • Selections Spring 2008
  • Sterling Ruby: CHRON
  • Alan Saret Gang Drawings, 2007

2010

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2011

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2012

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2013

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  • Drawing Time, Reading Time- group show: artists: Carl Andre, Pavel Büchler, Guy de Cointet, Mirtha Dermisache, Sean Landers, Allen Ruppersberg, Nina Papaconstantinou, Deb Sokolow, Molly Springfield.
  • William Engelen, Falten
  • Susan Hefuna and Luca Veggetti, NOTATIONOTATIONS
  • Terry Smith, Document
  • Giosetta Fioroni L’Argento
  • Alexandre Singh, The Pledge
  • Ignacio Uriarte, Line of Work
  • Ishmael Randall, Weeks, Cuts, Burns, Punctures

2014

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  • Sari Dienes, Sari Dienes
  • Xanti Schawinsky, Head Drawings and Faces of War
  • Thread Lines group show
  • Small, group show: artists: Firelei Báez, Emmanouil Bitsakis, Paul Chiappe, Claire Harvey, Tom Molloy, Rita Ponce de León, Peggy Preheim, James Sheehan and Tinus Vermeersch
  • Lebbeus Woods, Architect
  • Len Lye, Motion Sketch
  • Open Sessions, group show: artists: Eleanor Aldrich, Derek Dunlop, Heather Hart, Yara Pina, Andrew Ross, Lauren Seiden, Barbara Weissberger.
  • Andrea Bowers i Suzanne LacyDrawing Lessons
  • Rashaad Newsome, FIVE
  • Deborah Grant, Christ You Know it Ain't Easy!!
  • Dickinson/Walser Pencil Sketches

Management and funding

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The Drawing Center named Laura Hoptman, a former curator at The Museum of Modern Art, Executive Director in 2018.[2]

In August 2005, the Drawing Center was considered one of the groups to occupy the World Trade Center. The plan was scrapped, and then the center's leadership spent a couple of years exploring a move to the South Street Seaport, where it planned to build a $60 million museum.[5] By 2010 the museum decided to stay put and expand its Wooster Street home.[6]

Also in 2005, it was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.[8][9] For the 2012 renovation, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation gave a $3 million grant, one of its largest contributions toward a single construction project.[6]

As of 2011, attendance was at 35,000 visitors a year.[5] As of 2018, the center attracted 55,000 visitors a year.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "The Drawing Center: About", Art Info, 2008, archived from the original on October 10, 2008, retrieved July 11, 2008
  2. ^ a b c Smith, Roberta (July 31, 2018). "Drawing Center Names New Executive Director". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Vitello, Paul (January 22, 2014). "Martha Beck, Founder of the Drawing Center, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  4. ^ Lambert, Susan (1984). Reading drawings: an introduction to looking at drawings. Pantheon Books. p. 6. ISBN 9780394724799.
  5. ^ a b c Vogel, Carol (February 3, 2011). "The Drawing Center Expands Beyond Its Lines". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Loos, Ted (September 5, 2012). "Same Museum, but a Brand-New Look". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  7. ^ Cotter, Holland (November 1, 2012). "Works That Play With Time". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  8. ^ Roberts, Sam (July 6, 2005). "City Groups Get Bloomberg Gift of $20 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  9. ^ "Carnegie Corporation of New York Announces Twenty Million Dollars in New York City Grants" (Press release). July 5, 2005. Archived from the original on March 10, 2008.
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