Beginning September 10, The Menil Collection presents a new exhibition titled “Fragility” (Fragilidad), a show that brings together more than sixty works and explores the role and its multifaceted nature as an artistic material. It includes drawings that reveal various processes, such as perforation, abrasion, stitching, and burning, as well as a selection of paper sculptures.
Among the artists whose work we will see are Lee Krasner, active in the mid-20th century and a relentless critic of her own work, who often destroyed drawings to then recombine them as abstract collages; the Czech artist Adriena Šimotová, active during the height of Cold War censorship, who created sculptures by layering sheets of tissue paper and pressing and smoothing the material against her body; Ann Hamilton, who used soft wool sewn between sheets of handmade paper to reflect on the pocket as an element of storage and protection for the body in her collaborative work “poche”; and Zarina, who channeled grief over the loss of her husband and homeland by meticulously perforating the paper with a needle to create intricate compositions.
“Paper is a material susceptible to wrinkles, tears, and other surface imperfections or undulations; yet it also demonstrates notable resilience. Artists are aware of these attributes and, at times, work with paper specifically to cultivate these properties. In doing so, their work can speak to resilience in the face of various shared vulnerabilities of the human condition, such as precarity, troubled interpersonal relationships and social instability,” said Kelly Montana, Associate Curator of the Menil Drawing Institute.
Created in 1979 by the artist Lynda Benglis, this piece in the exhibition is titled “Mold.” Photo courtesy The Menil Collectión
In 2014, the artist Amy Sillman created this paper piece which she named “Rome #1” and which is part of “Fragility.” Photo courtesy The Menil Collectión
Ann Hamilton, in collaboration with Dieu Donné, presents this piece created in 2014 with paper and wool. Photo courtesy The Menil Collectión
The artist Leon Polk Smith created this piece in red paper in 1964 and it is part of The Menil Collection. Photo courtesy The Menil Collectión
Cabe destacar que el Menil Drawing Institute sigue siendo la única instalación independiente de Estados Unidos dedicada a la exposición, investigación, conservación y almacenamiento de dibujos modernos y contemporáneos.
The Menil collection, comprising nearly 3,500 drawings, originates from the founders of the museum, John and Dominique de Menil, and continues to grow thanks to ongoing acquisitions.
Un aspecto fundamental de la misión del Drawing Institute es la apertura a la forma en que los artistas desafían las concepciones tradicionales de este medio. “Fragility” destaca uno de estos hilos conductores: cómo los artistas amplían el campo del dibujo al resaltar los atributos físicos y sensoriales del papel como soporte.
This exhibition will be open until January 24, 2027 at the Menil Drawing Institute. More information at www.menil.org.
