For the past 16 years, the Drawing Now Art Fair has been the world’s premier annual event dedicated to drawing as a distinct artistic medium. Every year in March, more than 70 galleries present the work of over 300 artists in the Carreau du Temple (and previously in the Carrousel du Louvre) in Paris. Whether in pencil, watercolor, graphite, black chalk, pen, iron filings, chalk, dust, red chalk, as two-dimensional collages or in three-dimensional form, contemporary drawing is constantly evolving and reinventing itself.
In 2011, the Drawing Now Art Fair, with the support of its long-standing partner Soferim, created and presented the first Drawing Now Award. The aim of the Award is to recognize artists who have chosen drawing as their main means of expression, regardless of the tools or supports they use. The exhibition “Collecting Drawings“ is a showcase of all 11 winners of the Award since its inception.
The Fair (23 to 26 March 2023 at the Carreau du Temple) has attracted almost 300,000 interested, passionate and experienced visitors. Some of them have started or completed a collection by buying one or more drawings. The “Collecting Drawings“ exhibition also spotlights them.
11 collectors have opened the doors of their collections and lent a work by a prizewinning artist that they purchased from a participating gallery. Each of their loans is accompanied by an explanation for their acquisition and of their relationship to the drawing. This exhibition overturns the customary relationship between artists, curators and visitors by giving collectors a voice.
Artists in the exhibition
Catherine Melin, Clément Bagot, Didier Rittener, Cathryn Boch, Abdelkader Benchamma, Jochen Gerner, Lionel Sabatté, Michail Michailov, Lucie Picandet, Nicolas Daubanes, Karine Rougier
Collectors
Vincent Brochier, Maurice et Dominique Choueka, Catherine Dobler, Laurent Dumas (Emerige), Collection LGR, Olivier Louf-Meersseman, Guillaume Proust, Claire Le Restif, Didier Werbe
Galleries
Galerie Anne Barrault, Galerie C, Galerie Espace à vendre, Galerie Maubert, Galerie Vallois, Galerie Papillon, Templon