Galleries Visual Arts

UNC Asheville’s Drawing Discourse Exhibition Opens

UNC Asheville’s Drawing Discourse

Studying the studio by Diana Noel, pastels 46×40

UNC Asheville’s juried international exhibition of contemporary drawing, Drawing Discourse, now in its 8th year, will open Friday, January 20, in the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery in Owen Hall, with a 5 p.m. lecture and 6 p.m. reception. Works submitted to the exhibit have nearly doubled since its inception, with this year’s entries reaching 905 pieces by artists from ten countries. Forty-two drawings were selected and will remain on view through Friday, February 17.

“We’re extremely pleased with the overwhelming response, in terms of both the number of entries and the excellent quality of work,” says Tamie Beldue, art professor at UNCA. “We invite a different juror’s perspective each year. This provides a diverse body of work, sometimes calling into question the very definition of drawing. In the past we have exhibited drawings made with video, photography, wire, rubber bands and even billboard sequins in addition to more traditional materials such as graphite and charcoal.”

This year’s juror, Scott Noel, is a professor of drawing and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He has curated museum exhibitions and mounted more than 30 solo exhibitions of his own works at museums, galleries and universities. His work has appeared at the More Gallery, Mangel Art Gallery and The State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

“I hope my selections capture the urgency that can only manifest through the consciousness drawing uniquely comprises,” says Noel. “I admired all the work I reviewed and was genuinely moved by the drawings I was able to include in the exhibition.”

S. Tucker Cooke Gallery is located at 117 Owen Hall, One University Heights, Asheville. Gallery hours are 9 A.M. to 6 P.M. weekdays. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Learn more at art.unca.edu.

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