Drawing Near: Contemporary Drawings from the Columbus Museum

Available for national tour through 2013

The Columbus Museum’s American drawing collection is among the finest in the country. The 25 works featured in this traveling exhibition embody the complex character, dynamic spirit and innovative ideas that have shaped American art and culture.  The Columbus Museum defines drawing as any unique work on paper, and Drawing Near includes a variety of media, including pencil, charcoal, watercolor, gouache, pastel, ink and monotype.  While drawings are frequently made as preliminary sketches for a painting or sculpture, most of the pieces in this exhibition are finished works of art in their own right. 

Contemporary drawing has been energized by the huge range of images generated from electronic means, such as photography, film and computer technology. Unlike these media forms, however, drawings are unique, or one-of-a-kind, works of art. The simplicity of the materials and immediacy of drawing make the process the most direct representation of an artist’s thoughts and actions. The works featured in Drawing Near represent drawing as a unique and diverse medium. Artists in the exhibition include Seymour Lipton, William Bailey and Joseph Hirsch.

Click here to view or download a PDF with exhibition specifications.

For more information, contact Deb Wiedel, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions, Columbus Museum, at (706) 748-2562 x321 or dwiedel@columbusmuseum.com.

Across India: Selected Photographs from Robert Arnett’s
India Unveiled

Available for national tour through 2013

Across India features approximately 40 cibachrome photographs by Columbus, Georgia artist Robert Arnett that present a compelling portrait of India and its rich cultural legacy. The artist’s images powerfully document the country’s diverse peoples and religions while capturing its spectacular and dramatically varied landscape. The resulting photographic record formed the basis Arnett’s internationally acclaimed book, India Unveiled, published in 1996 and now in its third printing.  The selection of images featured in Across India allows viewers to retrace Arnett’s trek through each major region within this dynamic land, and view some of the many sides of an infinitely complex civilization that is more than 5,000 years old.

Arnett has had an avid interest in India for over 30 years, but it was the mystique and spirit of the land that impelled him to spend almost two years there between 1988 and 2000. Without itinerary or expectations, Arnett set out on his first of five trips across India.  He traveled on trains and crowded country buses to places with cultural and sacred significance.  He participated in local rituals and celebrations, met swamis and scholars, and stayed in homes with Indian families of varied backgrounds.  With a deep reverence for Indian culture, he has captured for posterity through his lens the very essence of the country.

A native of Columbus, Georgia, Arnett has a Master's Degree in History from Indiana University.  Undergraduate studies were at Tulane University, the University of Georgia, and the London School of Economics in England.  He has lectured widely throughout North America at such venues as The Smithsonian Institute and Harvard, Yale and Stanford universities.  He was a speaker at The Parliament of World Religions held in Cape Town, South Africa in December 1999.  He has been interviewed on National Public Radio, Voice of America, South African Broadcasting Corporation and various television appearances.

Click here to view or download a PDF with exhibition specifications.

For more information, contact Deb Wiedel, Assistant Curator of Exhibitions, Columbus Museum, at (706) 748-2562 x321 or dwiedel@columbusmuseum.com.