Jennifer Bartlett: Hospital is the first museum exhibition of this new series of ten pastels made in 2012. The works are based on a series of photographs that Bartlett took during an extended stay at Greenberg Pavilion at New York-Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, and which she later cropped and edited in her studio. Bartlett has included pastels in other large-scale serial works like In the Garden (1980) and Air: 24 Hours (1991–92). As well, pastels have acted as a sort of travelogue for Bartlett, with various series referencing places she has lived in or traveled to, including: Cape Cod, Bermuda, Aspen, Iceland, Mayeaux Island, Sun Valley, Amagansett, Brooklyn, and Manhattan.
With Hospital, Bartlett continues her long-established practice of close observation and responsiveness to her environment, but this time turns her attention to interior spaces and window views rather than landscapes, gardens, and atmospheric conditions. The drawings mine the liminal experience of "hospital time," characterized by long periods of waiting interspersed with highly organized routines of treatment, medication, and physical therapy. This combination of boredom and activity often heightens one's awareness of details, and Bartlett exploits these sensations to create images that eschew sentimentality while remaining indelibly poignant.
Curated by Brett Littman, Executive Director.
Jennifer Bartlett: Hospital is made possible by the support of Jerry Speyer, Michael Forman and Jennifer Rice, and the Schiff Foundation. Additional support is provided by members of The Drawing Center's Exhibition Fund.
Image: Jennifer Bartlett, Hospital, 2012, Pastel on paper, 30 x 30 inches. Courtesy of Michael Forman and Jennifer Rice. Photo by Joseph Hu.
