A Good Habit Formed II: Examples of the PAFA Drawing Culture

Exhibition Info
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Anne Bryan Gallery
Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building
Curated by
Curated by students Michael Gallagher's Exhibitions Class
Drawing, singing, writing, and dancing are intrinsic human acts of expression—and while growing up they are a way for a young person to be and to become. And maybe during a person’s life they make the decision to join the society of art makers and decide to train to expand and hone their capacity for visual expression.

The PAFA training curriculum initially was based on European beaux-arts academies which emphasized drawing (although a specific type of drawing). Nevertheless, drawing at PAFA was considered a foundation, a gateway, and a common language for all visual arts.

This exhibition presents examples of that visual language and its use as note taking, practice, homework assignments, a teaching tool, preparatory sketches, or presentation drawings by PAFA faculty and current and past students, as well as contemporary drawing methods and works that may interrogate notions of drawing.

The exhibition features work by: Abigail Beames (BFA), Maggie Bosco (MFA), Kay Brinton (BFA), Kailey Brown (MFA), Kate Burgess (PAFA/Penn BFA), Nina Byerly (BFA), Helen Cardamone (MFA), Faith Castillo (BFA), Arnab Gan Choudhury (MFA), Jason Connor (Post-Bacc), Holly Dudley (BFA), Minh Duong (BFA), Sophronia Eckenrode (Certificate), Celeste Espinosa (BFA), Ashley Feldman (BFA), Julio Galvez (MFA), Maximillian Gurman (Certificate), Navid Hasan (BFA), Olivia Hiester (BFA), Anna Hoppel (PAFA/Penn BFA), Darya Khristich (BFA), Carol King (MFA), Milan Michaud (BFA), Taylor Pate (MFA), Julia Gwen Poncavage (BFA), Zhengxin Ran (Studio Certificate), Roselyn Rodriguez (BFA), Elijah Smith (BFA), Jessica Stahl (BFA), Lasha Stewart (MFA), Eric Wagner (BFA), Jasmine Wang (PAFA/Penn BFA), Jake Weinstein (BFA), Xi Wu (BFA).

Juried by PAFA Alum and former School Exhibitions Facilitator, Brian Boutwell.

Curated by the PAFA college students of Michael Gallagher's Exhibitions & Curatorial Visions course, a professional practice elective which gives students hands-on learning about the design and production of exhibitions, including various curatorial approaches and processes in museums, commercial galleries, and DIY spaces. Class discussions, field trips, and guest lectures with PAFA museum staff and local curators expose students to the role of the artist as curator and give them tools to critically analyze the role of curators today. 

Special thanks to Painting faculty, Al Gury, for lending alumni and faculty works from his personal collection, and to Director of Archives and Collections, Hoang Tran, for loans from the rare book collection of PAFA’s Archives.

The Opening Reception will be held on Thursday, September 22nd from 4pm - 7pm. 

Artwork image: Julia Gwen Poncavage (BFA), "The Hideout", Charcoal, 8 x 10 inches, 2021

Arnab Gan Choudhury
Arnab Gan Choudhury (MFA), "Study of Xavier", Charcoal and chalk on toned paper, 72 x 30 inches, 2022
Jasmine Wang
Jasmine Wang (PAFA/Penn BFA), "Winged Victory of Samothrace", charcoal, 18 x 24 inches, 2021
Maximillian Gurman
Maximillian Gurman (Certificate), "Unbroken", Graphite on Paper, 12 x 17 inches, 2021
Taylor Pate
Taylor Pate (MFA), "Moonlight", ink on paper, 9 x 11.5 inches, 2022