VIENNA.- Drawing has never been so multifaceted and diverse as today. Never have artists resorted to so many different formats and techniques, never has the genre been reconsidered and redefined in so many directions. Artists devise and use their own methods to address their themes: ink is extracted from root beer; drawings are covered with beeswax; their surfaces are treated with an electric sander. Drawing on paper has long ceased to be a prerequisite. One can just as well draw on the wall, or a line may be drawn with wire instead of a pencil. Formally, anything is possible: from delicate and meticulous to gestural and expressive, from geometric abstraction to photorealism. Drawings are inspired by construction plans and architectural sketches, by children’s book illustrations, comics, or graffiti. Artists draw their motifs from our history of art and culture or borrow from television, the Internet, and newspapers. Drawing enables them to explore new ways and perspectives to translate complex thoughts, capture fleeting impressions, or tell stories.

In the mid-1980s, the diversity and broad spectrum of drawing sparked the enthusiasm of the French collectors Florence and Daniel Guerlain. Over the years, their passion has led to the compilation of one of the most prestigious collections of contemporary drawings, featuring many of the world’s leading artists. In 2012 the couple donated a major part of their works to the Centre Pompidou in Paris. From this collection we are presenting works by twenty artists illustrating the idiosyncrasies of drawing in the twenty-first century and offering a representative overview of current discourse. Once again the Albertina Museum explores drawing, which may be today’s most innovative and open discipline in visual arts.

Especially for the exhibition at the ALBERTINA Museum, Nedko Solakov realized his Albertina doodles . With these drawings, Solakov leaves the dimension of the paper. He regards real space as the home of his figures. Executed in black permanent marker, his figures end up on walls and in corners as unexpected and ironic commentaries on the given space and situation, where they wait to be discovered by the viewers.

Artists: Mark Dion, Marcel Dzama, Marcel van Eeden, Catharina van Eetvelde, Jana Gunstheimer, Erik van Lieshout, Robert Longo, David Nash, Cornelia Parker, Joyce Pensato, Chloe Piene, Pavel Pepperstein, Javier Pérez, Anne-Marie Schneider, Kiki Smith, Nedko Solakov, Renie Spoelstra, Aya Takano, Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, Jorinde Voigt