Ways of Seeing: Three Takes on the Jack Shear Drawing Collection 

October 2, 2021–February 20, 2022

The Drawing Center, New York, NY

Ways of Seeing: Three Takes on the Jack Shear Drawing Collection is a three-part exhibition that focuses on the extraordinary drawing collection of artist, curator, and President of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation Jack Shear. Continuing The Drawing Center’s tradition of exhibiting drawings from outstanding public and private collections, Ways of Seeing offers a revealing experiment in connoisseurship and exhibition-making. During the course of the exhibition’s fifteen-week run, artist Arlene Shechet, critic and curator Jarrett Earnest, and Shear himself will each present an installation curated from Shear’s holdings, which consist of nearly seven hundred drawings dating from the sixteenth century to the present.

Take One: Jack Shear, Oct 2–Nov 7, 2021
Take Two: Arlene Shechet, Nov 13–Dec 23, 2021
Take Three: Jarrett Earnest, Jan 15–Feb 20, 2022

In the first installation of Ways of Seeing, on view from October 2 through November 7, Shear adopts a unique approach to hanging his collection, placing drawings alongside, directly on top of, or abutting other works on the basis of intuited visual affinities regardless of context or historical provenance.

The second installation, on view from November 13 through December 23, artist Arlene Shechet takes an equally inventive approach, Shechet has chosen artworks that highlight connectivity and intimacy, complimenting her careful consideration of the viewing environment. As a sculptor, Shechet addresses the physical space of The Drawing Center’s galleries, installing four of her own hand-carved wooden benches to create a dynamic communal space that embodies the idea that how we see art is fundamental to what we see.

For the third and final iteration of Ways of Seeing, on view from January 15 through February 20, critic and curator Jarrett Earnest takes the fundamentals of drawing as a starting point for his installation of works selected from Shear's collection. Organizing the installation around two drawings—one by Henri Michaux and the other by Vija Celmins—Earnest creates a dynamic display around the premise that works of art are impacted by the context in which they are seen and received.

Taken together, the exhibition’s successive iterations—curated by Jack Shear, Arlene Shechet, and Jarrett Earnest, respectively—offer a revealing experiment in connoisseurship and exhibition-making.

Organized by Claire Gilman, The Drawing Center’s Chief Curator, with curators Jack Shear, Arlene Shechet, and Jarrett Earnest, and with the assistance of Isabella Kapur, Curatorial Associate.


Visit The Drawing Center’s page for the exhibition here.

Installation views, Ways of Seeing: Three Takes on the Jack Shear Drawing Collection. Photo: Daniel Terna.