The Menil Drawing Institute Explores New Frontiers in ‘What Drawing Can Be: Four Responses’ Exhibition

The Menil Drawing Institute is pleased to announce What Drawing Can Be: Four Responses, an exhibition opening March 21, 2025. The show will feature site-specific installations by four visionary artists: Jillian Conrad, Teresita Fernández, Tony Lewis, and Constantin Luser. Each artist will interpret the prompt 'What drawing can be' in an individual gallery space.

The exhibition continues a rich history of drawing that extends beyond traditional paper, embracing new forms and materials. In the 20th century, artists like Alexander Calder with his wire sculptures, and Dorothea Rockburne and Sol LeWitt with their text-based and wall drawings, pushed the boundaries of drawing to include new materials, scales, and even conceptual approaches. What Drawing Can Be continues this legacy, revealing how drawing remains a dynamic and vital form of artistic expression. The artists in the exhibition will break away from traditional labels, creating works that challenge limitations of material, scale, and even ephemerality.

The works on view will include both existing pieces and new, site-specific creations, engaging with the architecture of the Johnston Marklee-designed building, itself a testament to innovative design. Each artist will transform their gallery space to explore their unique interpretation of what a drawing can be.

Leading the exploration is Teresita Fernández, an acclaimed artist known for her monumental public works that challenge traditional notions of landscape and perception. Her installation may challenge how drawing, in its expanded form, can engage with and reshape space.

Tony Lewis’s work—created with graphite powder and torn paper—examines themes of power, identity, and resistance, drawing upon the visual language of protest. His work challenges the limits of drawing as a medium for political expression.

Jillian Conrad’s work explores the interplay between materiality and abstraction, challenging the very concept of drawing. By blurring the lines between physical and conceptual space, she pushes the boundaries of both the medium and the landscape.

Constantin Luser further redefines the medium through his kinetic wire sculptures, which cast intricate shadows that create a dynamic relationship between two- and three-dimensional space. His work blurs the lines between drawing, sculpture, and installation, transforming the gallery into a dynamic composition of form and light.

Together, these four artists respond to the legacy of experimental drawing, echoing the innovations of pioneers like Calder and LeWitt. Their work offers fresh perspectives on how drawing remains a relevant, agile, and evolving medium in contemporary art.

Curated by Edouard Kopp and Kelly Montana, What Drawing Can Be exemplifies the Menil Drawing Institute’s commitment to exploring the medium’s role in today’s artistic landscape. This thought-provoking exhibition will be on view through August 10, 2025, continuing the Menil Collection’s tradition of providing transformative, free artistic experiences for all visitors.

For more information about the exhibition and the Menil Collection, visit menil.org.