First show of Mel Bochner's work to use drawing as its principal organizing focus opens in Chicago
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, October 8, 2024


First show of Mel Bochner's work to use drawing as its principal organizing focus opens in Chicago
Mel Bochner. Planar Arc, 1978. Collection of the artist. Image © Mel Bochner. Photo by James Powers.



CHICAGO, IL.- At the forefront of Conceptual Art since the 1960s, Mel Bochner (American, born 1940) has produced works in almost every medium—painting, photography, sculpture, prints, and books—yet drawing has always been foundational to his practice. On view at the Art Institute of Chicago April 23 through August 22, 2022, Mel Bochner Drawings: A Retrospective is the first show of the artist’s work to use drawing as its principal organizing focus. Nearly 90 works, including several from the museum’s collection of Bochner’s earliest drawings, have been brought together to highlight all phases of the artist’s career.

Spanning traditional techniques on paper in ink, pencil, and charcoal; oil paint on newspaper; wall drawings in powder pigment; and even stones arranged on the floor, Bochner’s pioneering works helped to redefine traditional boundaries of drawing. Often subversive and imbued with the artist’s signature sense of humor, they coax the viewer into comprehending what they mean.

“The materiality of a drawing is central to its meaning,” Bochner has remarked. “Every medium reveals something but hides something else. A change of mediums can reveal what was hidden, permitting new thoughts to emerge.”

In challenging any rigid definition of drawing, Bochner and his work have insistently asked the question, “What isn’t a drawing?” The exhibition celebrates this question as it explores Bochner’s central themes of language, numbers, measurement, shape, and visual perception, illuminating his evolving ideas about seriality, temporality, and the slippage between word and image.

Curator Kevin Salatino adds, “We are delighted to present the first comprehensive retrospective of Mel Bochner’s drawing practice, which spans nearly sixty years and draws heavily from his personal collection. Many works in the show have never left the artist’s studio and will be seen by the public for the very first time.”

Mel Bochner Drawings: A Retrospective is curated by the Art Institute’s Kevin Salatino, chair and Anne Vogt Fuller and Marion Titus Searle Curator, Prints and Drawings, and Emily Ziemba, director of curatorial administration, Prints and Drawings.










Today's News

May 4, 2022

A Word from Collector Karun Thakar on "Indian Textiles: 1,000 Years of Art and Design" in Washington, DC

MFA Boston transfers antique marble head to the Republic of Italy

Exhibition pairs masterworks of Italian Gothic painting with Lucio Fontana's spatial concepts

Thaddaeus Ropac opens Elizabeth Peyton's first exhibition in France in over a decade

David Claerbout solo exhibition opens at Sean Kelly Gallery

Christie's announces highlights included in the Geneva Magnificent Jewels sale

Gladstone 64 opens an exhibition of works by Kerstin Brätsch

Thomas Dane Gallery opens an exhibition of Amie Siegel's new large-scale moving image work, Bloodlines

First show of Mel Bochner's work to use drawing as its principal organizing focus opens in Chicago

MLF Marie-Laure Fleisch opens Alice Cattaneo's new solo exhibition

Solo exhibition of new work by Ricky Swallow on view at Modern Art

Thierry Goldberg opens an online exhibition of works by Brittany Miller

White Cube opens an exhibition of works by Jeff Wall

Miles McEnery Gallery opens an exhibition of paintings by Alex Dodge and Tom LaDuke

Anna Laudel opens Serkan Küçüközcü's solo exhibition titled "Un-limited Motion"

Almine Rech Paris opens Hajime Sorayama's first solo exhibition with the gallery

Juana Williams named Associate Curator of African American Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts

Kelvin Browne to retire as Executive Director and CEO of the Gardiner Museum

Blue Star Contemporary names Asaiah Puente Education Manager

52 Walker opens an exhibition featuring the work of Amsterdam-based artist Nora Turato

Exhibition of new paintings by Georgian artist Tamo Jugeli opens at Polina Berlin Gallery

Worcester Art Museum announces new Associate Curator of Contemporary Art

Jack Hanley Gallery opens a solo exhibition with new paintings by Koichi Sato

Anh Duong "Without Obsession I Am Lost", her first solo show opens in Los Angeles

The 50+ Tattoo Hook: Manopause or Self-Realization

3 Reasons Why CAD Blocks Are Useful

Why Some Young Men Struggle to Flirt Well

Beautiful Artwork for International Children's Day

5 Wonderful Ways Artists Benefit From Using Cannabis

How to Increase Your Exposure to Cryptocurrcenies Without Purchasing Them?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful