Overview

February 6 – April 10, 2016

Guest Curated by Bridget Donlon

The phrase “work on paper” is a known quantity. It brings to mind paper used as a material on which to be drawn, painted, or printed. At Dieu Donné, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, the emphasis is on works in paper, meaning that paper is not a substrate but rather is the medium itself. Using little more than fiber, pigments, water, and methyl cellulose (a natural adhesive), paper provides a multitude of unexpected possibilities as an artistic material, and artists and papermakers work together in the Dieu Donné studios to explore a seemingly limitless range of outcomes.

This exhibition brings together artwork created in the Dieu Donné studio by twenty artists who have participated in the organization’s prestigious residency programs. The artworks range from intimate two-dimensional studies to large sculptural works, all made from a form of paper pulp. The artists have varied practices outside of the residency but are united through their exploration of the possibilities of this versatile medium.

Artists whose work will be included are: Firelei Báez, Ian Cooper, David Kennedy Cutler, E.V. Day, Melvin Edwards, Natalie Frank, Jane Hammond, Jim Hodges, William Kentridge, Jon Kessler, Glenn Ligon, Suzanne McClelland, Arlene Shechet, Kate Shepherd, Molly Smith, Do Ho Suh, Mary Temple, Richard Tuttle, Ursula von Rydingsvard, and B. Wurtz.

Organized by the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art, Pure Pulp will travel to the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking at Georgia Tech in Atlanta (June 9 – August 5) and the Dedalus Foundation in New York City (September 8 – October 16).

Published in conjunction with DelMonico Books/Prestel, a fully-illustrated book with contributions by Tracy L. Adler, Director, Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art; Kathleen Flynn, Executive Director, Dieu Donné; Bridget Donlon, exhibition curator; artist Richard Tuttle; and writer and critic Rachel Wolff accompanies this exhibition.