Frank Walter: To Capture a Soul and Josh Smith: Life Drawing are made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Generous funding for Frank Walter: To Capture a Soul is provided by Sandra Wijnberg and Hugh Freund, Elena Bowes, Noel E.D. Kirnon, Frank Williams, and an Anonymous donor.
The exhibition catalog is made possible by David Zwirner.
On the occasion of Frank Walter: To Capture a Soul, The Drawing Center will
present Josh Smith: Life Drawing, the first exhibition of drawings by acclaimed contemporary
artist Josh Smith. Josh Smith: Life Drawing will be the artist’s homage to Antiguan artist Frank
Walter, a testament to a shared commitment to approaching their subjects with honesty, curiosity
and humble dedication. The exhibition will include approximately thirty drawings by Smith that
span the artist’s career. Known for his vibrant paintings and prints ranging from abstractions to
subjects such as leaves, fish, birds, “Grim Reapers”, and palm trees, Smith has also been making
simple pen and pencil sketches of these subjects for more than two decades.
Whereas Smith’s large-scale paintings and prints strike the viewer with their coloristic intensity
and bold execution, the artist’s drawings are highly focused renderings that reflect Smith’s
sensitivity to his media and his skill as a draftsman. In these modestly-scaled sketches of fish and
fowl, fragments from life and evocations of death, Smith echoes Walter in creating a meditative
world in which reality and the imagination are inextricably connected. In Smith’s words, “Frank
and I share the love for making deep and beautiful images. Regardless of what that means.”
Josh Smith: Life Drawing and Frank Walter: To Capture a Soul will be on view at The Drawing Center from June 21 through September 15. Both exhibitions are organized by Chief Curator Claire Gilman with Isabella Kapur, Curatorial Associate. Barbara Paca is Consulting Curator for Frank Walter: To Capture a Soul.
