Ruth Asawa Through Line

A groundbreaking examination of how the act of drawing was a vital component of Ruth Asawas multifaceted art A revelatory exhibition. . . . [A] fine exhibition catalog.Nancy Princenthal, New York Times, Critics Pick Ruth Asawa (19262013), widely known for her looped-wire sculptures, was an inveterate drawer. She filled sketchbook after sketchbook and even stated that drawing was central to her sculpture. This volume is the first to consider the significance of drawing in Asawas oeuvre throughout her career, featuring essays that examine the range of Asawas aesthetic maneuvers across materials and techniques; how Asawas drawing intertwined with the Bay Area arts community and her contributions to public education as a teacher and organizer; and the influence of Josef Alberss pedagogy and Asawas lifelong adoption of his type of paper folding. Tracing Asawas artistic journey from her first formal art lessons in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II through her time at Black Mountain College and beyond, this comprehensive overview of the artists drawings includes reproductions of more than one hundred worksmany of which have never been publishedorganized into eight thematic sections that cut through time, reflecting an art-making practice that was more circular or cyclical than linear. Distributed for the Menil Collection and the Whitney Museum of American Art Exhibition Schedule: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (September 16, 2023January 15, 2024) The Menil Collection, Houston (March 22July 21, 2024)