The Menil Collection The Menil Collection

In this keynote lecture for Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself, Edith Devaney explores Motherwell’s position in 20th-century American Art and examines the unique role he played within the Abstract Expressionism movement. The motivation and manner in which Motherwell’s dissemination of the movement’s preoccupations to both the wider world and successive younger generations of artists are also considered.

Devaney charts Motherwell’s career progression alongside those of a number of his contemporaries, examining his work at key moments throughout his career and illustrating how his many interests— literature, philosophy, and art history—found expression in his works. There will also be a focus on the importance of drawing within his practice.

This program takes place in the Menil Drawing Institute, located at 1412 West Main Street. Additional information regarding accessibility and parking can be found here.

As always, Menil programs are free and open to all.

Edith Devaney is a curator who has focused her practice on contemporary and modern art. Amongst the many exhibitions she has curated and written for are David Hockney: A Bigger Picture in 2012, Abstract Expressionism in 2016, and Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth in 2017, all at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Other recent exhibitions include Arshile Gorky: 1904–1948 in 2019 and Afro in 2022 at Ca’ Pesaro Museum in Venice, and Milton Avery at the Museum of Modern Art at Fort Worth, the Wadsworth Atheneum, and the Royal Academy of Arts in 2022.