Drawing permits and invites possibility. It is a medium that privileges research and discovery and gives a material trace to the slipperiness of thought. As a form that transcends discipline—it is as valuable to the choreographer, composer, and archaeologist as it is to the architect and artist—drawing acts as a language that gathers those frequently kept separate and provides a way to look into creative culture more holistically.
The Menil Drawing Institute is positioned to become a leading international venue for thinking about the centrality of drawing in modern and contemporary artistic culture. The MDI’s new building, designed by Johnston Marklee, reflects drawing as both an open field of inquiry and a precise line of artistic questioning. With spaces for exhibition, study, research, conservation, and reflection, the MDI will be a porous space that permits the public to dynamically interact with its holdings. The building and the MDI’s exhibition and research programs will reveal the multiple places that drawing inhabits—as a form of inquiry, a medium of experimentation and communication, and an end in its own right.
“Through the unfaltering leadership and the remarkable support of the Menil’s Board, the MDI is positioned to be the most important international venue for thinking about the centrality of drawing in modern and contemporary artistic culture. The MDI’s new home, designed by Johnston Marklee, reflects drawing both as an open field of inquiry and a precise line of artistic questioning. With spaces for exhibition, study, research, conservation, and reflection, the MDI will be a porous space that permits the public to dynamically interact with its holdings. I look forward to welcoming you to the MDI.” —David Breslin, John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Chief Curator, Menil Drawing Institute
