"Christopher Wilmarth: Drawing into Sculpture"
2003-04-06 until 2003-06-29
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard
Cambridge, MA, USA

The Harvard University Art Museums present Christopher Wilmarth: Drawing into Sculpture, on view April 5 through June 29, 2003, at the Fogg Art Museum. The exhibition features 58 works including drawings, sketchbooks, paper and card maquettes, and technical specification sheets drawn from the Fogg Art Museumís Christopher Wilmarth Archive and several private collections. Drawing into Sculpture seeks to acknowledge Wilmarth as one of the most innovative artists of his generation and is the first exhibition to focus on Wilmarthís use of drawing throughout his career and to offer insights into his artistic practice and personal vision.

An American artist best known as a sculptor in plate glass and steel, Christopher Wilmarth (19431987) was also a pioneering draftsman. He thought in three dimensions, visualizing his complex forms in the round. Many of his preparatory studies took the form of three-dimensional paper maquettes or plywood mock-ups. Drawing was a retrospective activity for Wilmarth, a means for the artist to return to and assess specific aspects of existing sculptures. His drawings mediated transitions from one sculpture to the next.

This scholarly exhibition curated by Edward Saywell makes an intelligent and impassioned argument that three-dimensional works in sculptural media can be defined as drawings, said Marjorie B. Cohn, acting director of the Harvard University Art Museums. Thanks to the generosity of Susan Wilmarth-Rabineau, the artistís widow, the Fogg Art Museum has acquired the Christopher Wilmarth Archive, which comprises over 40 sketchbooks, 62 maquettes, and hundreds of original technical and childhood drawings.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Massachusetts

Other Important Exhibitions in Cambridge