Feature: The Big Picture - Exhibition - Drawing 2011 Biennial Fundraiser at Tannery Arts until May 18
Published: 21 April, 2011
THE Drawing Room’s fifth Biennial Fundraiser has once again attracted an impressive line-up of more than 200 works, from Turner Prize-winning artists including Richard Long and Mark Wallinger to exciting emerging artists like Anna Barham, who has shown at the ICA, and Nicholas Hatfull, recently included in “Newspeak: British Art Now” at the Saatchi Gallery.
Firmly established on the art world calendar, Drawing Room’s Fundraiser exhibition is an essential destination for anyone wishing to catch the latest developments in contemporary drawing and pick up a unique work.
Three months before the Fundraiser exhibition opens, each artist is sent a piece of A4 cartridge paper and is asked to return it with an original drawing. This process ensures that the auction comprises individual works of art of exceptional quality. In support of the Drawing Room’s 10th anniversary, artists have been extraordinarily generous and this year the exhibition will demonstrate the richness and diversity of drawing today.
For a starting price of £250, the format of the silent auction means anyone can bid (online, by telephone or in person) for an original work of art.
Highlights this year include Paula Rego’s “St Mary of Egypt” (the rarity of Rego’s drawings set off a bidding war in our 2007 auction), Bob and Roberta Smith’s diatribe against the recent cuts to the Arts, George Shaw’s portrait of Richard Attenborough as “Christie”, David Austen’s “Elizabeth Taylor”, Dawn Mellor’s “Dustin Hoffman” and “Mia Farrow”, George Bolster’s portrait of Alexander McQueen and Markus Vater’s love bug.
The bidding culminates in an exciting evening on May 18 when those in the know gather to see if they can pick up a work for a bargain price.
• Drawing 2011 Biennial Fundraiser: exhibition until May 18; silent auction May 16, 6.30-8.30pm Drawing Room, Tannery Arts, Brunswick Wharf, 55 Laburnum Street, E2 8BD, Wednesday to Sunday noon-6pm, or by appointment (closed April 22-25 and April 29-May 2), 0207 729 5333, www.drawingroom.org.uk