Organized by Curator Michelle White for the Menil Drawing Institute
Throughout her distinguished career, Lee Bontecou (b. 1931) has created drawings as a vital component of her artistic practice, both in relation to the sculptures for which she is renowned, and as independent works of art. Exhibitions (including a landmark retrospective in 2003) have occasionally paired her sculptures and drawings, but no museum to date has dedicated an exhibition solely to this distinct aspect of her work.
Beginning January 31, 2014, the Menil Collection will become the first museum to present a retrospective of this major facet of the artist’s oeuvre in Lee Bontecou: Drawn Worlds. The exhibition is organized by Menil Curator Michelle White under the auspices of the Menil Drawing Institute (MDI).
On view through May 11, Lee Bontecou: Drawn Worlds spans the years 1958 through 2012 with approximately 76 works drawn from the museum’s own holdings and from other institutions (including The Museum of Modern Art, LACMA, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden). Works from private collections include more than two dozen of the artist’s drawings.
Stated Josef Helfenstein, director of the Menil Collection: “Lee Bontecou’s drawings provide us with a new way of seeing the world while also illustrating the power of the medium. Lee Bontecou: Drawn Worlds takes its place as the most recent in the series of exhibitions, such as Richard Serra Drawing, that exemplify the founding principles of the Menil Drawing Institute.”