Last week, a new exhibition titled Drawing Out of Bounds opened in the Beard & Weil Galleries within Watson Fine Arts. Organized by Michele L’Heureux, Gallery Director, the exhibition displays work by 54 artists from 19 states, as well as one collaborative duo from France. It is a big number for a Wheaton gallery show, and extra walls were put up to make space for the pieces.
Drawing Out of Bounds opened on Feb. 27 and features a wide range of artistic approaches, including sculptures, photography, paintings, stitching and video. Some of the works are a mixture of techniques: one memorable piece by Amber Eve Anderson called Five Hours in Room 307 at the Doubletree Suites in Washington DC on April 13, 2012 is a collection of photos of yarn taken in a hotel room. The ball of gray yarn sits on a stool in front of the photos.
“We wanted the show to be about experimenting with the possibilities of drawing,” said L’Heureux. “How far can you push something and still call it a drawing?”
The pieces featured in the exhibit were chosen from about 600 submissions by 200 different artists. They were selected by Judith Tannenbaum, the Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art at the RISD Museum of Art.
In another piece, School Girls by Melissa Zexter, a gelatin silver print of two young girls was laced over with red stitching. Resa Blatman’s piece, Tangled, which is featured on the cover of the Drawing Out of Bounds booklet, also drew attention for its expressive nature, bold colors and intertwined themes.
“I thought it was a really interesting exhibit because each piece was so different from the last,” said Charlotte Fressilli ’15. “When we were walking through, you never knew how the next piece was going to look or feel—there was such great variety! That was my favorite thing about it.”
Students have also noticed the artistic construction occurring just outside the gallery, where a sculpture of duct tape, vinyl adhesive and paper covers the walls. Debra Weisberg, a Boston-based artist, has been working in collaboration with students at Wheaton to create the wall drawing.
Several other events will take place in the gallery in the upcoming weeks. On March 20 at 6 p.m., Judith Tannenbaum will give a talk about the definition of drawing and how it has changed over the years. On March 27 at 7:30 p.m., a dance performance featuring Susan Dibble, Nicole Pierce, Michael Hammond and Cam Willard will occur in the gallery itself. The performance will be a reflection on eight pieces in the exhibition. “It’s yet another iteration of what a drawing can be—can it be movement?” L’Heureux questioned.
A large exhibition such as Drawing Out of Bounds will take place at Wheaton every two years, this being the inaugural biennial. “To have it finally here is a big deal,” said L’Heureux.
The Drawing Out of Bounds exhibition is free and open to the public. It will be open until April 13, Monday through Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.