Museum of Art, RISD presents Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line

A major figure in American art since the 1970s, Pat Steir has created some of the most ambitious and challenging drawings of the late 20th century. Organized by RISD curator Jan Howard and independent curator Susan Harris, Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line presents 40 years of Steir’s work in a survey that focuses on her exploration of the vocabulary of drawing.

Presented in 6,000 square feet of gallery space, Steir’s drawings on paper—which vary dramatically in scale—are shown in relationship to her paintings and prints. The exhibition includes a recreation of her large wall drawing Self-Portrait: An Installation. (first created for the New Museum in New York in 1987), which she will install on site with assistants beginning February 2. Other works in the show include her minimal and intimate word/image drawings (1971–74); richly delineated serial investigations of line (1975–76); heroically scaled wave drawings (1983–86); four interrelated series of stunning waterfall drawings (1991); and a new and dramatic series featuring broad, dark gestural marks that sometimes serve as a backdrop for delicate pastel grids (2007–08).

EVENTS
2:30 pm, Sunday, February 28, Conversation with Pat Steir and Kathan Brown: Brown is the founding director of San Francisco’s Crown Point Press, where Steir has been making prints since 1977. Curator Jan Howard moderates, with an emphasis on the role of drawing in Steir’s prints.

6:30 pm, Thursday, March 11: Conversation with Pat Steir and Julie Mehretu (RISD MFA 1997): Curator Susan Harris moderates this conversation, in which each artist discusses the central role of drawing in their work, with a focus on issues specific to women artists of their respective generations.

2:30 pm, Sunday, April 25, Poetry reading with Anne Waldman: Described in the New York Times as “the fastest, wisest woman to run with the wolves in some time,” Waldman is a poet, professor, performer, and cultural activist, and with Allen Ginsberg co-founded the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa Institute in 1974.

1 to 4 pm, Saturday, April 24, The Big Draw: A day of drawing activities based on several themes in Steir’s work. This free event is geared to all ages and levels of ability.

PUBLICATION

Pat Steir: Drawing Out of Line, co-authored by Susan Harris and Jan Howard.

SUPPORT
Support for Drawing Out of Line has been provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, Providence Tourism Council, Paula and Leonard Granoff, Locks Family Foundation, John Cheim (RISD BFA 1977), Howard Read (RISD BFA 1976), and an anonymous donor.

Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design
www.risdmuseum.org
224 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
401 454-6500
Tuesday through Sunday, 10am-5pm