This landmark exhibition, co-organized with the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica (ING) in Rome, of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Italy, is comprised of fifty-nine rarely-exhibited engraved metal printing plates dating from the sixteenth century to the late twentieth century, ... Read more
This landmark exhibition, co-organized with the Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica (ING) in Rome, of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Italy, is comprised of fifty-nine rarely-exhibited engraved metal printing plates dating from the sixteenth century to the late twentieth century, culled exclusively from the collections of one of the world’s most important museums devoted to the Graphic Arts. The exhibition is co-curated by ING curators Ginevra Mariani and Antonella Renzitti, and Brett Littman, Executive Director of The Drawing Center.
Continuing The Drawing Center’s tradition of collaborating with research and archival institutions, this extraordinary partnership with the ING will culminate in a comprehensive presentation of metal printing plates (copper, zinc, lead, steel, and brass) engraved by Italian masters. By presenting the plates on their own, without the resultant prints, this exhibition advocates for a broadly conceived understanding of drawing that addresses several pressing issues in historical and contemporary art, including: the concept of the unique artwork, the translation of an original picture to an engraving, the presentation of unconventional media as drawing, and finally the role of the archive in preserving and disseminating history.
