The Oxford English Dictionary defines our contemporary understanding of the word “draw” as “to form a line by drawing a tracing instrument from point to point of a surface.” A drawing is “an arrangement of lines which determine form.” But the root of the word in Old English, dragan, meant to pull or drag; in other Teutonic tongues it indicated to carry or bear something.
Hook, Line & Sinker is an exhibition of drawings construed in the widest sense, an anthology of practices deployed by artists to configure the world, examples of the singular discipline that underlies every other way of making a mark in the world. All of visual art sits atop a line, even if one is not visible within the work itself; a line is present if for no other reason than all art has a boundary, a frame, an ending where it abuts the rest of the world. That’s because lines are the fundamental fact of vision, which at all times seeks to define what is seen.
Based in Miami, Debra and Dennis Scholl have been fearless and strategic collectors of contemporary art for 35 years. This exhibition, organized by the Nevada Museum of Art and accompanied by an illustrated catalogue, offers viewers an opportunity to expand their understanding of how drawing is defined in the 21st century. From Alice Channer’s Untitled (hair clips), to Jason Hedges’ Caymus and caymus special select cabernet sauvignon, experimental art-making materials abound in this selection of 40 works by 18 artists.
Lead sponsor
Enid A. Oliver, ChFC/Ameriprise Financial
Supporting sponsor
Sotheby’s
Additional support
Stremmel Gallery