Olivia Shao and Bob Nickas: A Manifestation of the Urge to Play

The Drawing Center, a museum in Manhattan's SoHo district, explores the medium of drawing as primary, dynamic, and relevant to contemporary culture, the future of art, and creative thought. Its activities, which are both multidisciplinary and broadly historical, include exhibitions; Open Sessions, a curated artist program encouraging community and collaboration; the Drawing Papers publication series; and education and public programs. It was founded in 1977 by curator Martha Beck (1938–2014).Visitor ConductVisitors to The Drawing Center, Staff and Participants in The Drawing Center’s Education, Community and Public Programs have the right to a welcoming, respectful and safe environment for all, free from abusive, threatening, or inappropriate behavior.  The Drawing Center reserves the right to remove any person acting in an unacceptable or inappropriate manner.

The Drawing Center

Join curators Olivia Shao and Bob Nickas for a talk about self-taught art

In support of New York City’s effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 and for the health and well-being of our visitors and staff, The Drawing Center is postponing all planned public programs through April 12, 2020. 
Ticket-holders will automatically be issued refunds and will be notified of postponement dates as soon as they are confirmed.
We thank you for your understanding during this time. Please email info@drawingcenter.org with any questions.
Please stay safe and healthy!Presented in conjunction with <a href="http://www.drawingcenter.org/en/drawingcenter/5/exhibitions/9/upcoming/2247/guo-fengyi/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance</a> , curators Olivia Shao and Bob Nickas will convene for a conversation about the contemporary art world and its handling of self-taught art. Please note that conversation will be offered in English and ASL. Guo Fengyi (b. 1942, Xi-an) was a self taught artist who practiced qigong to alleviate her chronic arthritis pain. While practicing this ancient Chinese wellness technique, Fengyi drew intricate ink drawings and developed an imaginative, mystical, and deeply personal visual language. Bob Nickas is a writer and curator based in New York who has organized over 100 exhibitions since 1984. He has served as Curatorial Advisor at MoMA/PS1 between 2004-07, and on the teams for the 2003 Biennale de Lyon, and organized a section for Aperto at the 1993 Venice Biennale. Nikas is also the co-founder of Index magazine and has published widely over the past thirty-five years.Olivia Shao is an Independent Curator based in New York.
Members enjoy free admission to all ticketed Public Programs at The Drawing Center. To reserve your place as a TDC member, please RSVP directly to Tiffany Shi, Development Associate tshi@drawingcenter.org.<h3>About the Exhibition </h3><a href="http://www.drawingcenter.org/en/drawingcenter/5/exhibitions/9/upcoming/2247/guo-fengyi/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Guo Fengyi: To See from a Distance</a> is the first major institutional presentation of the Chinese artist’s work in the United States. The exhibition features more than thirty works from Guo’s brief yet prolific career, including drawings executed on book and calendar pages and on cloth, as well as small- and large-scale drawings on rice-paper scrolls. Spanning two floors of The Drawing Center’s galleries, To See from a Distance provides an overview of Guo’s visionary drawings, which incorporate the diagrammatic, the mystical, and the wildly imaginative.Born in 1942 in Xi’an, Guo began making art in her late forties after debilitating arthritis forced her into early retirement from a job at a chemical fertilizer factory. To alleviate her chronic pain, Guo devoted herself to qigong—an ancient Chinese wellness and healing technique that combines coordinated movements, breathing, and meditation. Qigong allowed Guo, who did not have an academic art training, to develop a deeply personal and symbolically charged visual language. During her meditations, Guo drew what she envisioned, creating intricate ink drawings on subjects ranging from cosmology and Chinese mythology to traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy.

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Olivia Shao and Bob Nickas: A Manifestation of the Urge to Play

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Olivia Shao and Bob Nickas: A Manifestation of the Urge to Play

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