Sep 10–Oct 14, 1999

Darkness Like a Dream: Nineteenth-Century Sandpaper Drawings; From the Collections of Randall and Tanya Holton, and Matt Mullican and Valerie Smith

This exhibition features the little-known medium of sandpaper drawings, popular in the mid-nineteenth century, made on panel or board covered with marble dust. Artists, both trained and untrained, transformed this shimmering surface with charcoal and/or pastel, creating haunting images that were marked by deep blacks and shining whites. Predominant themes include landscapes, seascapes, and city views as well as memorials and biblical and historical scenes.

Tanya Holton
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.
Randall
Valerie Smith