JAMES SIENA | BRATTLEBORO MUSEUM & ART CENTER

Why do we draw? What compels us to make a mark? As children, we draw before we read and write. As adults, even those of us who “don’t do art” find ourselves doodling in margins and on the backs of envelopes. In many ways, drawing feels like an elemental part of being human. 

Desire Lines brings together six artists who use drawing as a key part, if not the sole focus, of their artistic practice. For these artists, drawing acts as a starting point and a landing place, a way to engage with the immediate present and to understand and interpret the world around and within us.

The works in the exhibit range from formal abstraction to detailed representation. They exist in a variety of media: graphite, watercolor, crayon, ink and ink wash, collage, acrylic, and charcoal. While paper is the most traditional surface for drawing—some would say it’s essential—this exhibit includes canvas and installation as well. All the works access the unique energy that comes from making something by hand.

Line is the foundational element in the drawings of James Siena and Dana Piazza. Siena’s twisting and interlocking forms call to mind organic growth patterns or loosely woven cloth. The undulating skeins animate the surface, drawing our attention to both pattern and texture. Siena’s lines vary tremendously in character and expressive potential. 

For these six artists, drawing is thinking made visible, a window into their minds. Nandini Chirimar preserves memory by using drawing as an archival process. James Siena creates systems of repetition and variation. They all draw to explore, reflect, and communicate with their physical and interior worlds. As Tara Geer says, “I draw what I see but cannot explain.”

— Sarah Freeman and Mara Williams, co-curators