The Return of the Cadavre Exquis
$15
PurchaseThe Return of the Cadavre Exquis
November 6 – December 18, 1993
Exquisite corpse (from French cadavre exquis) is a collaborative, surrealist parlor game invented in 1925 in which players take turns drawing sections of a composition on a single sheet of paper, folding it to hide their contribution before passing it to the next person, resulting in a bizarre, unexpected final piece: the cadavre exquis. The Drawing Center endeavored to revive this game, initiating the project with invitations to 200 artists, but by the end, there were nearly 1,200 participants. As word spread and The Center began to receive drawings from other artists, the decision was made, in the surrealist spirit of chance, to let the game run its course and to accept any drawings that came.
Over 600 drawings were exhibited in the end, necessitating the inclusion of a second exhibition space at 395 West Broadway (previously the Rubin Spangle gallery) in addition to The Drawing Center’s gallery. All of the drawings were part of the benefit lottery where each was randomly assigned—again: in the surrealist spirit of chance—to those who purchased a $250 lottery ticket. In other words, each drawing in the exhibition was of equal value, and no one was able to choose. The collectors were forced to play a game of chance as well!
Ann Philbin, Director of the Drawing Center since July 1990, oversaw the project and participated in all curatorial decisions. Ingrid Schaffner, independent curator and critic, was the co-curator and project coordinator. Artists Kim Jones and Leonard Titzer also participated as curators. They acted as liaisons with the artist community, soliciting "un-curated" drawings and encouraging participation.
Featured Artists
- Laurie Anderson
- Ida Applebroog
- Tomie Arai
- Richard Artschwager
- Dotty Attie
- Julie Ault
- Alice Aycock
- Lutz Bacher
- Donald Baechler
- John Baldessari
- Jack Barth
- Georg Baselitz
- Lynda Benglis
- Mark Beyer
- Ashley Bickerton
- Mike Bidlo
- Max Blagg
- Nayland Blake
- Ross Bleckner
- Andrea Blum
- Jennifer Bolande
- Louise Bourgeois
- Dove Bradshaw
- Victor Brauner
- André Breton
- Trisha Brown
- Charles Burns
- William Burroughs
- Richmond Burton
- David Byrne
- Peter Cain
- Mary Carlson
- Enrique Chagoya
- Sarah Charlesworth
- Emily Cheng
- Y. David Chung
- Larry Clark
- Chuck Close
- Robert Colescott
- Greg Colson
- Maureen Connor
- Critical Art Ensemble
- Merce Cunningham
- Margaret Curtis
- Gala Dali
- Salvador Dalí
- Jeffrey Dennis
- Jane Dickson
- Marlene Dumas
- Carroll Dunham
- Jeanne Dunning
- Mary Beth Edelson
- Nicole Eisenman
- James Elaine
- Stephen Ellis
- Paul Eluard
- Barbara Ess
- Gretchen Faust
- Karen Finley
- Eric Fischl
- Louise Fishman
- Esteban Frances
- Hiroshi Fujishiro
- Adam Fuss
- Lawrence Gipe
Robert Gober
(b. 1954, Wallingford, CT, US; lives in New York, NY, US)
- Leon Golub
- April Gornik
- Gotscho
- Nancy Graves
- Renée Green
- Rainer Gross
- Nancy Grossman
- Peter Halley
- Jane Hammond
- Edgar Heap of Birds
- Mary Heilmann
- Georg Herold
- Jacques Herold
- Jenny Holzer
- Valentine Hugo
- David Humphrey
- Jörg Immendorff
- Mark Innerst
- Luis Jimenez
- Suzanne Joelson
- Ray Johnson
- Dennis Kardon
- Deb Kass
- Alex Katz
- Mike Kelley
- Ellsworth Kelly
- Jon Kessler
- Karen Kilimnik
- Byron Kim
- Martin Kippenberger
- Per Kirkeby
- Win Knowlton
- Jenifer Kobylarz
- Jeff Koons
- Joseph Kosuth
- Joyce Kozloff
- Guillermo Kuitca
- Sowon Kwon
- Justen Ladda
- Jacqueline Lamba
- Kevin Larmon
- Thomas Lawson
- Annette Lemieux
- Zoe Leonard
- Leone & Macdonald
- Julian Lethbridge
- Simon Leung
- Les Levine
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Glenn Ligon
- John Lindell
- Markus Lüpertz
- Anita Madeira
- Fabian Marcaccio
- Christian Marclay
- Linda Matalon
- Marlene McCarty
- Marilyn Minter
- Donald Moffett
- Max Morise
- Malcolm Morley
- Kirsten Mosher
Matt Mullican
Matt Mullican’s vast and prolific practice encompasses drawing, sculpture, video, performance, and installation. Ranging from schematic diagrams and arcane symbols to explicit text-based drawings and self-created cosmologies, Mullican’s work classifies, orders, and describes an understanding of the world, using drawing to confront the nature of subjectivity, perception, and cognition. Since the late 1970’s, Mullican has also conducted performances and created drawings while under hypnosis as a means of exploring the nature of behavior. Through his performances, Mullican has developed the mantra, “I love to work for truth and beauty” which contextualizes and motivates his artistic practice.
Born in Santa Monica, CA in 1951, Mullican presently lives and works in Berlin. He received his B.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts in 1974. Mullican’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and in Europe including solo shows at the Ludwig Museum, German (2005); Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, The Netherlands (1998); and Centre for Contemporary Art, Poland (1986), among many others. An installation of his work and performance were included in the 2008 Whitney Biennial and in 2009 The Drawing Center presented Mullican’s most comprehensive solo exhibition in the United States to date.
- Antonio Muntadas
- Celia Álvarez Muñoz
- Elizabeth Murray
- Peter Nagy
- George Negroponte
- Joan Nelson
- Marcel Noll
- Glenn O'Brien
- Lorraine O'Grady
- Helen Oji
- Nam June Paik
- Gary Panter
- Ed Paschke
- Philip Pearlstein
- Maurizio Pellegrin
- Benjamin Peret
Raymond Pettibon
b. 1957, Tucson, AZ
Lives and works in New York, NY
- Richard Pettibone
- Jack Pierson
- Lari Pittman
- Jacques Prevert
- Pruitt & Early
- Archie Rand
- Man Ray
- Elaine Reichek
- Faith Ringgold
Alexis Rockman
b. 1962, New York, NY
Lives and works in New York, NY
- Tim Rollins + K.O.S.
- Kay Rosen
- Erika Rothenberg
- Nicholas Rule
- Allen Ruppersberg
- Alison Saar
- Betye Saar
- David Salle
- Carolee Schneemann
- Mira Schor
- Collier Schorr
- Carole Seborovski
- Jim Shaw
- Judith Shea
- Maura Sheehan
- Cindy Sherman
- Jeanne Silverthorne
- Laurie Simmons
- Kiki Smith
- Michael Smith
- Ray Smith
- Alan Sonfist
- Keith Sonnier
- Buzz Spector
- Nancy Spero
- art spiegelman
- Wolfgang Staehle
- Doug & Mike Starn
- Gary Stephan
- Jessica Stockholder
- Donald Sultan
- Jeannette Tanguy
- Yves Tanguy
- Dorothea Tanning
- Mark Tansey
- Robin Tewes
- Rosemarie Trockel
- Alan Turner
- Alessandro Twombly
Nicola Tyson
b. 1960, London, England
Lives and works in New York, NY
- Tristen Tzara
- Raoul Ubac
- Meyer Vaisman
Lily van der Stokker
b. 1954, Den Bosch, Netherlands
Lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Don Van Vliet
- Remedios Varo
- Sokhi Wagner
- Mary Weatherford
- William Wegman
- Lawrence Weiner
- Matthew Weinstein
- Tom Wesselmann
- Sue Williams
- Fred Wilson
- Millie Wilson
- Terry Winters
- Betty Woodman
- B. Wurtz
- Lynne Yamamoto
- Michele Zalopany
- Jim Zivic
- Michael Zwack