CHICAGO.- Line as the fundamental tool of creation: the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago, presents Drawn into the World, the first-ever exhibition which surveys drawings from the MCA Collection, on view through October 15, 2006. Charting the rich and varied landscape of the medium, the exhibition explores both traditional and non-traditional approaches to drawing.

Surveying a wide range of graphic styles, Drawn into the World features the works of more than forty artists, and is divided into three thematic sections. The exhibition begins with unusual objects that artists have drawn with and upon including soil, gunpowder, petroleum jelly, and a dried ficus leaf. The second segment of the exhibition showcases the diverse applications of traditional drawing, with a separate focus on Chicago-based artists including works by Ed Paschke, Jim Nutt, and rarely seen works by Henry Darger. Focusing on architectural plans, maps, proposals, and drawings for projects, the third section sheds light on several MCA commissioned works.

Highlights of Drawn into the World include fourteen charcoal sketches by South African artist William Kentridge, used to shoot his animated film History of the Main Complaint (1995–96); exceptional two-handed drawings by Dieter Roth; sixty-four gouache-on-paper sheets that make up Sol LeWitt’s “portable” wall drawing One-, Two-, Three-, and Four-Part Combinations of Vertical, Horizontal, and Diagonal Left and Right Bands of Color (1993-94); and an installation of drawings for projects such as Claes Oldenburg’s Mouse Museum -- built by MCA preparators for his 1977 exhibition -- and Max Neuhaus’s Sound Installation as installed in the MCA’s former facility.

Many of the artists in Drawn into the World have been the subject of past exhibitions at the MCA, reflecting the MCA’s mission to acquire works by artists who have been featured in previous exhibitions, such as Kerry James Marshall, Lee Bontecou, Matta, William Kentridge, and Ed Ruscha. The exhibition also features the work of Matthew Barney, John Cage, Ana Mendieta, Raymond Pettibon, Suellen Rocca, Michelle Stuart, Nicola Tyson, Karl Wirsum, and former 12 x 12: New Artists/New Work artist Deb Sokolow. The exhibition is organized by MCA Curator Lynne Warren.