‘Draw’

"Draw"

Gallery Lombardi, through March 31

In typical fashion, Gallery Lombardi is back with a group show hanging salon-style throughout its new space on West Seventh. More than 200 artists contribute drawings to this Erik Foss and Curse Mackey curated show that originated at Fuse Gallery in New York. Austin hosts the second iteration of what will be a worldwide tour – London, Tokyo, Moscow, and beyond – with local artists invited to the exhibit along the way. Even with all of the elements of an alternative scene, there is something a little different about this Lombardi show.

New York is cosmopolitan, and Austin is peppered throughout the show, making the variety of drawings collected here diverse. Foss and Mackey pull from illustration, graffiti, skateboarding, and other genres of creativity for their tribute to drawing. Foss describes drawing as the "architecture of creation" and the "blueprint of life," while Mackey exclaims that without drawing, you have nothing. The works reflect these ideas.

Stereotypically, the different artists make marks in similar modes. Designers usually render convincingly voluminous forms, whether realistic or caricatures, while illustrators easily imbue imagery with narratives. Tattoo and graffiti artists tend to do well with patterns and designs in stark graphics or soft gradations. Then you have fine artists utilizing certain techniques, such as childlike scribble drawings, to challenge our notions of art and drawing.

All of these manifestations reveal a shared component. Although not simplistic, they are building blocks of creativity. In the sketches and studies, it is easy to see the investigation; in the finely shaded portraits, not so much. Throughout the gallery, you can find mark-making or composing of elements demarcating the structure upon which the rest of the drawing emerges. It sounds cold and mathematical, but it's the solid foundation that allows for the vivid departure of the differing styles. They're cool.

These are not pretentious hipster drawings by college students attempting to present themselves as naive or sincere. They may not be groundbreaking in form or style, but these are the real thing. Plus, they are shown with great care and honor – a respect similar to that Christina Hiett exhibited in her "Celebrated Skin" show at the Dougherty Arts Center back in November. Another New York-initiated group show about the alternative scene, "Radical New York," which showed earlier in the winter at the Austin Museum of Art, was curated by Carlo McCormick, a friend and mentor to Erik Foss. You can sense McCormick's influence in both the presentations and excitement of the works here.

Sometimes it is easy to forget that Austin is an alternative haven to the conformity, trend-chasing, and popularity contests of larger urban cities. Even with the influx of new residents, Austin is still weird. (Just don't "keep" it weird.) "Draw" looks like another regular Gallery Lombardi show. Thanks to the celebrities of all of the different subcultures included with lesser-known artists, it feels like more. That's a great way for Lombardi to inaugurate the new space, with one foot in familiar territory and the other stepping forward.