DRAWN

DRAWN from the Charles Darwin University Art Collection celebrates drawing as a means by which to slow down, observe the world and draw into being - with hand-made marks - that which we see, sense and experience.

DRAWN presents sketches, drawings, illustrations and works-on-paper acquired by the university since 1980. DRAWN reinforces the importance of drawing as a foundational technique to artistic practice. Eclectic in style, scale and content, the 60 drawings on display – executed in pencil [graphite], crayon, ink, pen, charcoal, pastel, conté and even photocopy toner – affirm the power of the hand-made mark. The exhibition features artworks by 30 Australian and Indonesian artists created between 1976 until 2021. 

DRAWN from the CDU Art Collection implicitly documents the 40-year history of the Charles Darwin University Art Collection. Many of the drawings displayed in DRAWN were acquired in the early 1980s by the Darwin Community College Art Committee. The committee’s vision was outward-looking as they acquired artworks by emerging interstate artists, many of whom became acclaimed Australian artists. More recently, the mandate of the CDU Art Collection has focused on Territory-based artists, including former staff and alumni of Charles Darwin University, many of whom are represented in DRAWN. Several works by Indonesian artists are also featured in the exhibition, indicative of the increasing focus on acquiring art by South east Asian artists for the CDU Art Collection. 

These artists have artworks featured in DRAWN: John Beard, Peter Booth, Jon Cattapan, Douglas Chambers, Janenne Eaton, Jacki Fleet, Richard Goodwin and Bärbel Rothhaar, Chris Healey, Winsome Jobling, Jumaadi, Tjilpi Kunmanara Kankapankatja, Tim Maguire, Mandy Martin, Terry Matassoni, Jane Mervin, Rod Moss, Estelle Munkanome, Michael Muruste, Bernard Ollis, Mike Parr, I Wayan Pendet, I Wayan Rajin, Christian Clare Robertson, Karen Rogers, I Gusti Putu Sana, Neridah Stockley, Tony Tuckson, Phillip Merrdi Wilson and Alison Worsnop.
 

Image: Jacki Fleet, Fire flies, 1998, charcoal and gouache on paper; 58 x 77 cm; Charles Darwin University Art Collection, CDU1689, gift of the artist