For her quirky drawings, the late American artist Eva Hesse utilized everything from paint and plaster to string and wire. “Eva Hesse: Drawings” at the Menil Gallery features more than 100 of the German immigrant’s works. Interestingly, the artist insisted on calling her drawings “paintings.” In one untitled piece, two gobs of plaster with multi-colored wires make up what seems to be a jellyfish devouring lunch. Hesse, who bounced between Conceptualism, Minimalism and Surrealism to constantly push the boundaries of art in postwar America, used drawings like these as a basis for producing her famous sculptures.
Thu., Feb. 2, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Wednesdays-Sundays, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Starts: Feb. 2. Continues through April 23
This article appears in Jan 26 – Feb 1, 2006.