What defines a drawing? Is it the line, the mark, the tone? What does “drawing” actually mean?
It is a question explored by the exhibition Imaginary Lines, opening 14th November, through a unique interplay of historical and contemporary works.
Xenia is an artist residency in Hampshire founded in 2020 by Bianca Roden. This show takes the residency’s Old Master drawings collection as its starting point and creates a dialogue between these classic pieces and works by 11 recent artists from Xenia Artistic Retreat.
Artists have long used drawing to capture fleeting emotions, document moments, and explore new methods of expression. At first glance, a traditional charcoal drawing may seem worlds apart from a modern piece made with thread or wet clay. However, through thoughtful pairings of Old Master works and contemporary pieces, Imaginary Lines reveals unexpected aesthetic and formal connections, enabling viewers to find meaningful comparisons.
For instance, Daisy May Collingridge’s Hilary Reclined (2024) and Walter Sickert’s Reclining Nude (1906) both present full-bodied nudes with an unsettling quality. In Sickert’s work, there’s a sense of voyeurism, as his subject appears passive, almost devoid of agency. Collingridge’s piece, by contrast, challenges the conventions of the female nude by blending gender traits and confronting the viewer directly. While Sickert uses charcoal on paper, Collingridge crafts her figure with padded fabric, “drawing” through sewing and capturing the work in a photograph.
Another example is found in Nao Matsunaga’s semi-abstract clay works, inspired by human faces, which echo the sensual, elongated forms of Il Parmigianino’s figures. Despite the 500-year gap between them, both artists use line and mark-making to delve into facial expressions as a means to convey emotion and human experience.
Imaginary Lines celebrates the evolving artistry of drawing, highlighting how contemporary artists now work with an ever-expanding array of materials and techniques. By placing masterpieces from the past 500 years alongside fresh creations by today’s artists, the exhibition demonstrates that the power and excitement of image-making are as vibrant and essential as ever. While the tools may shift, drawing remains a timeless medium for expressing human experience, even in the digital age.
The artists in Imaginary Lines are:
Contemporary – Nao Matsunaga, Sophie Ruigrok, Iain Andrews, Daisy May Collingridge, Abbie Griffiths, Haroun Hayward, Sarah Knowland, Graham Little, Oren Pinhassi and Hugo Wilson.
Old Masters – Il Parmigianino, Bernardo Strozzi, Il Guericino, Philips Wouwerman, Giambattista Piazzetta, Jean-Antoine Watteau, Jean Baptiste Oudry, Nicholas Lancret, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Francois Boucher, Jean-Honore Fragonard, Hubert Robert, Théodore Caruelle D’Aligny, Walter Sickert, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
Xenia Artistic Retreat: Imaginary Lines, 14th November 2024 – 22nd November, 2024
Daniel Katz Gallery, 6 Hill Street, London W1J 5NF
Lead image: Daisy May Collingridge
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