Texas Draws II

San Antonio, Texas. ART Magazine.

“Line is a basic element of art, referring to a continuous mark, made on a surface, by a moving point. A line is long relative to its width. It can define a space, create an outline or pattern, imply movement or texture and allude to mass or volume. Absolutely essential in creating art, the line”1.

Texas Draws II showcased eleven artists from Texas and their eloquent and expressive drawn works at the Southwest School of Art’s biennial Texas Draws. The exhibition “reveals the power that a simple line, mark, or empty space can conjure, when employed by contemporary artists” says Kathy Armstrong, Director of Exhibitions at the art school. The artists use line and drawing to express their ideas in their own unique style.

Daniel Adame’s performance is the perfect embodiment of what the exhibition is about. Wearing a chalk headpiece, the artist becomes the moving point that will literally draw the line on the blank space. The continuous line is generated by the artist’s movement. Daniel becomes an actual drawing tool while the artwork originates in the eyes and space of the viewer.

In a more subjective manner, the rest of the exhibition successfully illustrated the use of line and drawing and the polarity in the participants’ artistic styles. From Rosemary Meza’s sewn hair drawings to Judith Cottrell’s X-Ray images, the exhibition included impressive works that concentrated on a very powerful and basic principle of art: line and drawing.

Texas Draws also invited the public to participate. Taking its inspiration from the “exquisite corpse” drawings by the Surrealists during the last century, a community drawing unfolded in the school’s Navarro Lobby Gallery, as people contributed to it.

Texas Draws will be on display until April 29. For more information go to the School’s website swschool.org

Participating Artists:

Alex Rubio, San Antonio
Judith Cottrell, San Antonio
Stacy Berlfein, Sa Antonio
Daniel Adame, Houston
Anne Allen, Ft. Worth
Nathan Heuer, Victoria
Ian Ingram, Austin
Beili Liu, Austin
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, Dallas
Terry Morrow, Lubbock
Gael Stack, Houston