NYAB Event - William Anastasi "Drawings"

William Anastasi "Drawings"

Sandra Gering Gallery

This event has ended.

Anastasi's practice is interdisciplinary, informed by physics, music, and social thought. Like his close friend John Cage, Anastasi is fascinated by the element of chance in creation. The strongest intentionality in his work comes from his attempts to block out his conscious sensory responses to his surroundings. He has famously blindfolded himself and drawn to the background 'noise' of classical music, making every effort to prevent the sound from influencing his movements. He wears noise-canceling headphones on the subway in order to create his own sensory deprivation experience while he produces his Subway Drawings. By attempting to exclude his senses from the artistic process, Anastasi acts as a passive conduit through which Art passes, a perfect example of the ideal Heideggerian artist. Anastasi finds chance much more intriguing than volition, and has always thought the aesthetic result of his work fared better when he did not look at the drawing, or when he let a pair of dice decide where the markings should go.

The drawings in this exhibition showcase the conceptual and tangible possibilities randomness brings forth. Works include examples from major series that Anastasi began in the 1960s, as well as new works from the present day such as pocket drawings, subway drawings, constellations, theatre drawings, bursts, and drop drawings. This complex figure, perhaps plagued by self-doubt and on a ceaseless quest for self-discovery, has secured his position as a seminal Artist, and continues to innovate today.

[Image: William Anastasi "Subway Drawing 4.18.09" (2009) graphite on paper 7.5 x 11 in.]