Contemporary Drawings from the Irving Stenn Jr. Collection

The Art Institute of Chicago (USA) hosts the exhibition Contemporary Drawings from the Irving Stenn Jr. Collection.  In just a little over a decade, Chicagoan and Art Institute of Chicago trustee Irving Stenn Jr. has amassed a compelling collection of 170 drawings by at least 90 artists.

Concentrating on works from the 1960s -a period that saw a fundamental change in the way works on paper were made, used, and appreciated- Stenn's stunning collection features multiple works by Mel Bochner, Sol LeWitt, Brice Marden, and Fred Sandback, along with pieces by Agnes Denes, Eva Hesse, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, and Ellsworth Kelly. This focused assembly of 130 works, 100 of which are promised gifts to the museum, not only showcases Stenn's personal taste, vision, and passion as a collector but also offers a window into an era when artists reconsidered and reinvented the medium of drawing.

Stenn and his wife, Marcia, began collecting art -bold contemporary prints, paintings, and sculpture- in 1971. Yet it wasn't until 1999, after his wife passed away, that Stenn gravitated to drawings, which appealed to him because they are the most intimate and raw visualization of an artist's thought process. Their smaller scale also allows a greater number to remain on display at once- significant as Stenn lives with his entire collection.

Date: until February 26.
Location: The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60603-6404. USA.
Opening hours: from Friday to Wednesday from 10.30am to 5pm. Thursdays from 10.30 to 8pm.