Hammer Museum Presents Dubuffet Drawings, 1935-1962 Nearly 100 works on paper from the artist’s most innovative years On view January 29 – April 20, 2017.
This January, the Hammer Museum presents the West Coast debut of Dubuffet Drawings, 1935–1962, the first in-depth museum exhibition of works on paper by French artist Jean Dubuffet (1901–1985). Rejecting conventional notions of beauty and good taste, Dubuffet asserted that invention and creativity could only be found outside traditional cultural channels. Inspired by children’s drawings, graffiti, and the art of psychiatric patients, he emulated the immediacy of the untrained and untutored. He often turned to drawing, a medium in which he could indulge his passion for research and experimentation.
Dubuffet Drawings, 1935-1962 includes almost one hundred drawings from Dubuffet’s most innovative decades and features rarely seen works borrowed from private and public collections in France and the United States. His favorite subjects were mundane activities of everyday life—taking the subway, bicycling in the countryside—but he also tackled traditional genres like the portrait, the female nude, and the landscape, all the better to subvert expectations with his outrageous depictions. Insatiably curious, Dubuffet explored unorthodox materials and techniques, instilling into his drawings a sense of adventure that has kept them vibrant and relevant to this day. Organized by The Morgan Library & Museum in New York, the exhibition and catalogue were extensively researched by curator Isabelle Dervaux and her colleagues. The Hammer presentation is organized by chief curator Connie Butler, who also contributed an essay to the catalogue.
“Dubuffet’s innovation and insatiable curiosity will delight the L.A. audience in this exhibition organized by The Morgan Library & Museum,” said Ann Philbin, director of the Hammer Museum. “This exhibition brings back into focus an artist whose experimental work influenced generations of artists.”
Exhibition Credit
Dubuffet Drawings, 1935-1962 is organized by The Morgan Library & Museum, New York. The exhibition is curated by Isabelle Dervaux, Acquavella Curator of Modern and Contemporary Drawings at The Morgan Library & Museum. The Hammer’s presentation is curated by Connie Butler, chief curator, with Emily Gonzalez-Jarrett, curatorial associate.
About the Hammer Museum
The Hammer Museum at UCLA offers exhibitions and collections that span classic to contemporary art, as well as programs that spark meaningful encounters with art and ideas. Through a wide-ranging, international exhibition program and the biennial, Made in L.A., the Hammer highlights contemporary art since the 1960s, especially the work of emerging and under recognized artists. The exhibitions, permanent collections, and nearly 300 public programs annually—including film screenings, lectures, symposia, readings, music performances, and workshops for families—are all free to the public.
Hammer Museum Information
Admission to all exhibitions and programs at the Hammer Museum is free, made possible through the generosity of benefactors Erika J. Glazer and Brenda R. Potter. Hours: Tuesday–Friday 11 a.m.–8 p.m., Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Closed Mondays and national holidays. Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Boulevard at Westwood, Los Angeles. Onsite parking $6 (maximum 3 hours) or $6 flat rate after 6 p.m. Visit hammer.ucla.edu for details or call 310-443-7000.
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