Joana P.R. Neves breaks down the barriers of contemporary drawing
About the Artpress interview with the artistic director of Drawing Now Art Fair.
As a drawing enthusiast, I of course enjoyed the Drawing Now Art Fair, the first contemporary art fair exclusively dedicated to drawing in Europe, which was celebrating its 17th edition this year at the Carreau du Temple, in Paris, from 21 to March 24, alongside the Salon du Dessin and in Paris. No less than 73 art galleries were present, 40% of which were new exhibitors, 14 countries were represented, and I didn't count the gems discovered: no doubt, drawing is on the rise and is therefore progressing very well on the contemporary art market. I had already pointed this out to you in one of my previous texts written here for your attention, but I repeat: many works of art offered for sale on ARTactif are drawings. And when you don't have a huge budget, it is often interesting to take an interest in drawings, to buy a work of art that is less expensive but brings as much beauty and pleasure as another.
For Artpress magazine, the artistic director of Drawing Now answered questions from journalist Julie Chaizemartin, in order to enlighten us on the appeal of this market, which also often allows young artists to blossom, and which is played out increasingly aesthetic boundaries, as demonstrated by the central exhibition of the fair “Animation: mechanics of the mind”.
Joana P. R. Neves is an author and independent curator, born in Lisbon, Portugal, and based in London. She has worked in art galleries in Paris such as Galerie Chantal Crousel and schleicher+lange, as well as in London, such as Marlborough Contemporary. She has been the artistic director of Drawing Now Art Fair since 2017.
To the question concerning precisely the close links between drawing and animation, and the fact that animation, rejected by contemporary art purists, still often remains classified in collections linked to video art, Joana P.R. Neves answers that “our role is to open up perspectives. We note that several contemporary artists are closely interested in animation, such as the Iranian Elika Hedayat or the visual artist Fabien Granet. Conversely, some artists from animation turn to drawing to question the act of drawing in the landscape, to reflect on the eye-hand-environment relationship. We can cite Sébastien Laudenbach who works in the field of animation but has favored drawing to the point of creating a “written-drawn-animated” language inspired by Oulipo. Massinissa Selmani (nominated for the 2023 Marcel Duchamp Prize) and Catarina Van Eetvelde question how drawing makes an image.”
According to the artistic director of Drawing Now, it remains clear to me that limits must be set. Certainly, there is a recent phenomenon of crossover between these two languages, “but in a very precise and circumscribed fringe because animation, which is an industry, unlike contemporary art, is also very far from the latter. » And to quote the artist Antoine Roegiers, represented by the Templon art gallery, who “discovered the idea of animation because he wanted to redraw and animate the painting, like a cinema storyboard . In general, contemporary drawing is a fertile ground for welcoming other artistic languages which question themselves, which want to invest in other exhibition spaces. Some animators also wonder why they are not in the exhibition rooms. »
Apart from animation, other avenues of experimentation could of course be identified at the contemporary drawing fair. The Process sector also made it possible to bring together art galleries allowing themselves to do so, such as the 22.48 m2 gallery and its tiny stand hosting the miniatures of Paola Ciarska, or CAR Gallery from Bologna, a newcomer to the fair showcasing light the young French artist Julia Haumont, a graduate of the Beaux-Arts in Paris, who explores color in hybrid installations mixing earthenware, paper, textile, terracotta and glass.
“We also have a lot of abstract drawings this year (from Germany, Italy and England). We are particularly proud to present those of Greta Schödl, a nonagenarian Austrian artist whose practice combines drawing and writing in a sort of asemic writing,” explained Joana P.R. Neves to the journalist. The works of art for sale by Greta Schödl were indeed visible, and very moving, on the stand of the Labs Gallery, “a Bolognese gallery also new to the fair, like the English gallery Close Ltd. Which shows Anna Mossman's drawings which are like seams made over a long period of time. The two Hamburg galleries – Carolyn Heinz and Drawing Room – present abstract and materialist drawings, vibrant, almost musical. It seems to me that abstraction is coming back, yes. »
The artistic director of the fair is delighted “to have galleries that allow contemporary drawing to gain momentum”. This therefore of course involves an increase in exhibitors with international influence. “As such, the first participation of the Nathalie Obadia gallery is a strong sign, being a gallery which presents both historical and current artists such as Nu Barreto, who questions cultural identities, or Jérôme Zonder, who explores drawing in a unique way. Furthermore, we welcome several galleries from countries that are less obvious in terms of market but have an extremely fertile drawing tradition. »
The artist Lucie Picandet, represented by the Vallois art gallery and winner of the Drawing Now Prize in 2019, is cited by the artistic director of the fair as the emblematic example of the fact that Drawing Now Art Fair is an extraordinary gateway to entry into the contemporary art market for young artists. “Drawing Now is a forum that allows professional meetings in a human-sized setting. The time of looking and discovery is privileged and, as such, galleries can afford to take the risk of presenting young talents. »
While the journalist asks her if she has the impression that museums today show more drawings in their programming, Joana P.R. Neves confirms by citing the exhibition on the drawings of Picasso which has invested a considerable space in the museum then that it once occupied only a tiny part of it. “Drawing is now considered as a medium in its own right and as part of an artist’s body of work,” she notes. And to also mention, to my great astonishment, the Center Pompidou which will program from May to November a major exhibition on comics, curated by Anne Lemonnier. To my great astonishment because I had the impression that comics still remained a field parallel to contemporary art. “We want to break down barriers,” says the artistic director. Well… let’s break down the barriers! Given the economic and geopolitical unrest that is shaking up the art market, it seems to me that this is the least we can do to give artists a helping hand.
Article written by Valibri in Roulotte
