Long Island City Artists (LIC-A) invite you to visit our new online exhibition Drawings in a Time of Social Distancing curated and coordinated by Jorge Posada.
What a line can become is amazing! As a delicate traverse of space, as the delineating edge of form, or as a gathering of energy to shape a visual metaphor, in the hands of an artist it becomes mesmerizing. One hundred thirty-six artists have put their hands to creating the lines that you can enjoy in the drawings exhibited on LIC-A’s website, www.licartists.org, beginning June 10th, 2020.
Artist and curator for this online exhibition, Jorge Posada wanted to present the viewers with a wide variety of approaches to the discipline of drawing and also make it suitable to be shown on a virtual platform. Posada has grouped the drawings into three basic categories, based on each artist’s approach and technique: traditional, non-traditional and interior/exterior.
The drawing “View From the Bed, 2020” by Ellen Sturm Niz is included in the interior/exterior category.
“Every year I look forward to watching the leaves bud and unfold on the trees outside my windows in Jackson Heights,” Niz said. “This year, I was able to watch them even more intently as we spent most of our time sheltered in our apartments. In late April, as I sleepily spent another morning sipping coffee in bed, I sketched a representation of the view from my bed, imagining the people like me behind the windows across the way, watching the world unfold as we could never have expected.”
FOREWORD OF THE CURATOR JORGE POSADA
Drawing is the direct connection between the imagination and the real world. Since the first known drawings found in primitive caves, as a medium of expression, it has been connected to the history of humankind. The genesis of writing can be also traced to the action of drawing. A language was initially conceived as a hieroglyphic image and then transformed into a symbol to represent the spoken word. Today drawing is allover present in the virtual world created by the computer technology.
The practical use of drawing permeates multiple creating disciplines. Architecture, design, music, medicine, sculpture, painting, among others, are in direct connection to drawing. In the art history, drawing evolved to establish itself as a finished work of art away from its humble function as a sketch to be part of the creative process.
It is my wish to give voice to a heterogeneous group of artists and to provide them with a virtual space in order to present their creations. With this LICA online exhibit, I hope to ease the mental and physical isolation imposed upon the art community; and because New York City has been hit the hardest of any city in the world by COVID-19, this exhibition has been specifically dedicated to the work of artists living and working in the City of New York.
ABOUT LIC-A
Drawings in a Time of Social Distancing is the second major online show assembled by LIC-A since March 2020. We have reached out beyond our regular membership, as we do several times a year, to present a themed exhibition. This juried exhibition celebrates both the art of drawing and the indomitable creative spirit of New York City artists who have continued their work in the midst of what has been a frightening isolation. The variety and inventiveness in the drawings submitted is breathtaking. The inner strength and unique creative vision of each artist is humbling. It gives encouragement and hope to all of us. - Carol Crawford, LiC-A Board, President
Long Island City Artists, Inc. is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) arts advocacy organization with a mission to increase the development and visibility of professional and emerging artists in Queens and the greater New York area.