Benicia, CA – Arts Benicia is proud to present Drawing: The Probity of Art, a large-scale drawing exhibition including artworks by artists Gale Antokal, Lowell Dalton, Mark Eanes, Linda Fleming, Steve Johnson, Amy Kaufman, and Larry Thomas. The exhibition is guest curated by Artist and California College of the Arts Instructor, Mark Eanes, and will be on view at Arts Benicia. A free public reception for the artists will be held on Saturday, July 18 from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
The exhibition draws inspiration from Ingres, the French Neoclassical painter of the18th and 19th Centuries who proclaimed drawing was the probity of art. The word “probity” is rooted in the Latin derivative, probitas, meaning complete and confirmed honesty, integrity, and true virtue.
During Ingres’ time, drawing was highly regarded within the academic tradition as paintings were almost always constructed on armatures of preparatory drawings. Drawing continued to hold a central position in art history until the latter part of the twentieth century, when its relevance began to diminish and displaced with the advent and rise of digital technology, performance and conceptual art. Drawing as a skill set, and as a serious means of expression, began to take a back seat.
However, recently there has been a profound reversal in this trend and viewpoint. There has been a serious resurgence and appreciation for drawing as an important part of the artist’s vocabulary as witnessed in recent exhibitions such as the William Kentridge retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
This exhibition attempts to put a contemporary lens on Ingres’ view and re-contextualize its original meaning. The artists selected for this show have a passion for drawing, not only as a graphic experience, but also as a means for invention, expression and exploration of their individual vision.
Curator Mark Eanes states,
“A teacher of mine once told me that she loved drawing so…because the drawing never lies. Unlike a painting constructed with layers of paint that obfuscate the process, the truth of a drawing relies in part, to the immediacy of the act, the history of the surface, and the paper’s ability to record each moment. The mistakes, the missteps, the moments of clarity… all are revealed, and thus become the unmistakable witness to the artist’s journey.”
What: Drawing: The Probity of Art
Featuring Gale Antokal, Lowell Dalton, Mark Eanes, Linda Fleming, Steve Johnson, Amy Kaufman, & Larry Thomas
Where: Arts Benicia Gallery
991 Tyler Street,
Suite 114
Benicia, CA 94510
Tel. 707-747-0131
www.artsbenicia.org
When: June 20, 2009 – August 2, 2009
Activities in Conjunction with the exhibit:
What: Artists’ Reception
Free & Open to the Public
When: Saturday, July 18, 2009
3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Open Thursday – Sunday, Noon – 5 PM or by appointment.
Free admission.
Where: Arts Benicia Gallery
991 Tyler Street, Suite 114
Benicia, CA 94510
Contacts:
Alesha Colberg Martinez, Arts Benicia Program Coordinator,
(707) 747-0131
programs@artsbenicia.org
Mark Eanes, Curator
(707) 746-8650
mark@markeanes.com
