Spirit Level: Open Sessions 14 explores materials that bear witness to suspended states common to “waiting” in relationship to the practice of drawing. The exhibition gathers components that characterize the waiting room—of a doctor’s office, the Department of Motor Vehicle, or a bus depot, for example—where strangers assemble in varying degrees of temporary stasis. The waiting room at The Drawing Center serves as a space for drawing and rituals that guide visitors through a variety of life’s transitions. The visible elements in the exhibition are a stage for a performance or an activity in the making. Here the collective voice of Open Sessions’ artists sets in motion an absurd play, incorporating the behaviors (norms and otherwise) of waiting in a designated space. Diagrams, charts, blueprints, drawings, videos, and schematics explore the passage from one place to another; the transformation of line to form; and the metaphysical shift to some place unknown. This exhibition features the work of Mike Crane, Kunlin He, Victoria Keddie, Lux Lindner, Sharon Madanes, and Guadalupe Maravilla.

From October 12 through December 2019, Open Sessions presents five exhibitions organized by Rosario Güiraldes and Lisa Sigal, Open Sessions Curators, together with participating artists. Conceived and organized over fourteen months, these exhibitions held in either The Lab or the Drawing Room present experimental work and ideas, and take the form of thematic group shows. In the second year of the cycle, Open Sessions curators organize a full-museum exhibition to which all Open Sessions artists contribute work that best manifests and/or expands what drawing is.

About Open Sessions

Open Sessions builds on The Drawing Center’s long-standing legacy of championing work by early career artists who explore the nature of drawing in its many manifestations. Organized by curators Rosario Güiraldes and Lisa Sigal, Open Sessions is a two-year program held in two year cycles created as a platform for artists to find new approaches for contextualizing and exhibiting their work, through conversation, public programs, and thematic group exhibitions.

Artists selected for Open Sessions 2018–20 include: Joeun Aatchim, Kenseth Armstead, Bahar Behbahani, Keren Benenisty, Katarina Burin, Esteban Cabeza de Baca, Alex Callender, Crystal Z Campbell, Ludovica Carbotta, Jesse Chun, Liz Collins, Mike Crane, Dennis RedMoon Darkeem, Theodore Darst, Billy and Steven Dufala, Jonathan Ehrenberg, Carolina Fusilier, Rachel Granofsky, LaMont Hamilton, Kunlin He, Victoria Keddie, Young Joo Lee, Lux Linder, Sharon Madanes, Guadalupe Maravilla, Zatara McIntyre, Ester Partegàs, Omid Shekari, Tariku Shiferaw, Johanna Unzueta, Cosmo Whyte.

Organized by Rosario Güiraldes and Lisa Sigal, Open Sessions Curators