Extended Drawing

Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Bruce Nauman & Richard Serra
18.09.2011 – 15.01.2012 



Extended Drawing focuses on a specific aspect of the work of American artists Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Bruce Nauman and Richard Serra. The exhibition shows works in which line and drawing are taken beyond their original boundaries.


Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Bruce Nauman and Richard Serra now belong to the 'classical' generation that gave direction to American art from the mid-sixties. They show a clear affinity with Minimal and Conceptual Art. The four artists are paragons of new options in the art of drawing, exploring the potential of architectural or public spaces. The drawings no longer revolve around personal style, but enter a specific relationship with the wall (LeWitt), the painting (Mangold), the sculpture (Serra) and the public space (Nauman).

The hand-drawn line is the most personal and individual form of expression in art. The execution of lines in a drawing is like a handwritten letter and tells a lot about the author. Whether it is florid or angular in style, people like to think it mirrors the artist's character or inner emotions. The line speaks. And a drawing conveys a sense of great intimacy.

Making the line anonymous
In Extended Drawing, the aforementioned artists have distanced themselves from these conventions. Personal handwriting is categorically avoided and they aim instead to attain the impersonal. Neutrality is the goal, and art is reduced to an instrument used for a 'mechanical' execution that allows the preclusion of too much expressivity.


Sol LeWitt takes anonymity the furthest. The fact that he opted for his work to be carried out by assistants (albeit following strict guidelines) speaks volumes. As does the fact that Richard Serra restricts himself to the deepest possible black (a combination of resin and tar), without any shading. And neither can the thick, almost insensitive lines of Robert Mangold be seen as a great expressive gesture. Mangold uses lines to create an imbalance that hides behind the apparently unruffled harmony of circles or ovals. Nothing is left to the imagination. No rules of perspective or other illusionist artifices are used, and every effort is made to avoid illusion or mimesis. The way Bruce Nauman deals with outlines and contours is neutral and appears mechanical, even when they are presented in attractively coloured neon. The neon tubes flash on and off at a mathematically prescribed frequency, and the order is determined by a set significance of colours.

The exhibition will occupy the whole of the 2nd floor. This will give plenty of space to each artist and enable forty large works to be shown, bringing out an aspect of their work that has never before been addressed in such depth. The works in Extended Drawing are on loan from renowned private and public collections.

Sol LeWitt, Robert Mangold, Bruce Nauman and Richard Serra are very important to the Bonnefantenmuseum's collection, in which each artist has been represented by several works since 1987.

Work in progress
From 26 July, a number of wall drawings by Sol LeWitt will be carried out in situ by a team of six assistants. To give visitors a unique opportunity to watch the work being carried out, the rooms will be open during the process.

Publication
Extended Drawing is accompanied by a publication that will be available from the Museum Shop from September.

Downlaod here as pdf.

Beeldmateriaal

lees de voorwaarden voordat u het beeldmateriaal download. Wij stellen het erg op prijs om een bewijsexemplaar van de publicatie te ontvangen!

	BRUCE NAUMAN Sex and Death (1985) Neon tubing on aluminum panel 182,9 x 243,8 x 29,2 cm Herbert Foundation © ©Bruce Nauman/Artists Society (ARS), New York.
	BRUCE NAUMAN Sex and Death (1985) Neon tubing on aluminum panel 182,9 x 243,8 x 29,2 cm Herbert Foundation © ©Bruce Nauman/Artists Society (ARS), New York.
	ROBERT MANGOLD Curved Plane/Figure XI, 1995 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 274,5 x 550 cm Contemporary Art Collection »La Caixa «, Spain © »La Caixa « Foundation Archives © ©Robert Mangold/Artists Society (ARS), New York.
	RICHARD SERRA Egyptian Horsemix i: Squared to the Floor, 1979 Paint stick on paper 329 x 396 cm Private collection, Belgium © ©Richard Serra/Artists Society (ARS), New York.
	SOL LEWITT Wall Drawing#901, 1999 Acrylic paint Site specific installation ©Sol LeWitt/Artists Society (ARS), New York © ©Sol LeWitt/Artists Society (ARS), New York.
	Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing # 801: Spiral, 1996 & Complex forms no.8, 1988, collection Bonnefantenmuseum Foto Peter Cox