CURATORS' STATEMENTS:
On the Wall

The concept of wall drawing is not exactly a new idea. In fact, it is a very old idea. Some of the earliest attempts by humans to express themselves visually were created on cave walls, of course. That link to the past is intriguing, especially when considered in contrast to the contemporary world. My interest in wall drawing is a relatively recent development. I have used the wall as subject matter for trompe l'oeil drawings and paintings in the past, but had never done a drawing on an actual wall until 2002.

For this show, CSU Gallery Director Robert Thurmer and I invited artists known for their wall drawings, such as Sol Lewitt and Amy Ross, and others who we were interested to see work on the wall, such as George Kozman, John Moore, Ken Nevadomi, and Russ Revock. Willliam Kentridge was not able to be present to draw on the wall but agreed to exhibit three of his drawing-based films projected onto the wall. We have also invited two current CSU Drawing students, Matthew Russo, and Edward Pepera, to draw on the walls in an adjoining space to the main gallery.

Putting together a show like this is both exciting and intimidating. It is exciting because we have assembled a group of extremely talented artists to create site-specific artworks exclusively for this show. It is intimidating because as I write this, most of the art that will be seen, including my own, does not yet exist.

Once the show is over, the artworks on the wall will literally disappear. My hope is that they will continue to linger in our memories even after they are no longer physically present.

George Mauersberger
November 29, 2005

 

 

The Exhibition

It is always an unexpected pleasure for me when, in the pursuit of the Art Gallery mission (which is in part to present exhibitions that edify, educate, and engage our diverse audiences), we have an opportunity to use the gallery space as a laboratory – a laboratory in which we can experiment, test, and create, and also can contemplate, study, and analyze the results.

With this exhibition, George Mauersberger and I wanted to use the gallery as a laboratory in which we could explore the various ways in which contemporary artists use the gallery wall directly. We wanted to explore issues of scale, media, methods, and approaches, as well as subject, image, and ideas of what the gallery wall itself might mean to artists. And, thanks to the artists, we are not disappointed!

Robert Thurmer
January 10, 2006