It’s a Draw: Sneak Peek of Two Shows Coming Soon to the Menil

It’s a Draw: Sneak Peek of Two Shows Coming Soon to the Menil

'Steak' by Roy Lichtenstein, part of the Menil's 'Draw Like a Machine' show

THE MENIL COLLECTION has announced two new exhibits that will arrive at its Drawing Institute at the end of this month, both on view through March 13, 2022.


Draw Like a Machine: Pop Art, 1952-1975 includes more than 30 drawings made during an era when many artists were exploring techniques informed by the burgeoning advertising and mass-media industries. The featured works don't showcase "traditional" gestural strokes, but rather ones that resemble something made by a machine.

The Menil Drawing Institute's assistant curator Kelly Montana said in a statement, "Informed by an era in which art was increasingly integrated into popular culture, artists exploited graphic strategies harnessed by the working creatives of the day such as admen, illustrators, and sign painters to critique and subvert the prestige of drawing."

Ones by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and others originally collected by John and Dominique de Menil themselves will certainly be a highlight of the exhibit.

Meanwhile, Spatial Awareness: Drawings from the Permanent Collection is set to explore artists' understanding and rendering of physical space. Expect 3-D drawings, along with ones that put the human body in motion and employ visual techniques like folding, layering and transparency. The use of lines in various ways is also a common means of exploring space.

The show was organized by Saskia Verlaan, the Drawing Institute's first pre-doctoral fellow, who calls it a "dynamic collection" that challenge the "conventional and traditional ideas about drawing as a part of the broader reevaluation of the medium as a dynamic and fully independent arena of artistic practice."

Both shows open to the public on Oct. 29.

'Apotheosis of Hershey Wrapper' by Al Hansen, on view as part of 'Machine'

Untitled by Leon Polk, part of 'Machine'

'Drawing Interruptions Blocked Structures 4' by Barry Le Va, part of 'Spatial Awareness'

'Ractangle, Square' by Dorothea Rockburne, part of 'Spatial'


Art + Entertainment
Fall Philanthropy Report: Spindletop Community Impact Partners Engages and Supports At-Risk Youth

The 50th Annual Spindletop Holiday Ball, Seas and Greetings, will be held on Thursday, December 12. Tables and sponsorship opportunities are available now.

What is your mission? Spindletop Community Impact Partners, Inc. enhances the lives of at-risk youth through funding and volunteering from the energy industry, while promoting fellowship and networking among its participants.

Keep Reading Show less

A model on the runway at the Saks show kicking of the Nutcracker Market

A PAIR OF fashion-show events kicked off the annual Nutcracker Market in support of the Houston Ballet.

Keep Reading Show less
Fashion+Home

Bashar and Brigitte Kalai, and Alicia and Lance Smith

ONE OF HOUSTON'S most beloved charitable galas made a comeback, as the newly renamed “Voices for Hope” in support of Avenue 360 Health and Wellness and its nearly 40-year-old Omega House hospice for HIV patients bowed at River Oaks Country Club.

Keep Reading Show less
Parties