The Drawing Room highlights the importance of drawing In the cognitive and physical act of making up. The act of drawing is familiar to all from childhood: we are all taught to draw, and drawing is often used as a means of expressing our hopes and dreams, or creating fantasy places, strongly connected to story-telling. Throughout art history, artists have used drawing to further their practice. Most particularly, the Surrealists sought to reveal the subconscious through what became known as 'automatic drawing'. Drawing remains a prominent part of contemporary practice, extending well beyond the traditional sketch of pencil and paper. Its intimate nature allows for greater spontaneity and instinctive expression than is available in other media. The Drawing Room contains work by four artists who frequently use drawing as their primary practice.


Roman Ondak's works play with our perceptions of time and space, merging past, present and future. He subtly captures social and cultural behaviour, dreams, fantasies and ideas. Working within the parameters of conceptual art, his work involves the participation of others. He plays the role of instructor, giving the theme or idea for his work to the participants yet allowing their individual creativity to come through in the work presented. The work therefore becomes a collective imagination, examining the space between art and everyday life. In Futuropolis 2006 Ondak invited his friends and relatives to draw their vision of a megalopolis of the future, resulting in one hundred drawings presented in a naive, child-like style. Despite encompassing hope and fantasy for the future, the works rest upon the reality of the participant's present social situation.

Kyla McDonald

[LESS]
The Drawing Room highlights the importance of drawing In the cognitive and physical act of making up. The act of drawing is familiar to all from childhood: we are all taught to draw, and drawing is often used as a means of expressing our hopes and dreams, or creating fantasy places, strongly connected to story-telling. Throughout art history, artists have used drawing to further their practice. Most particularly, the Surrealists sought to reveal the subconscious through what became known as 'automatic drawing'. Drawing remains a prominent part of contemporary practice, extending well beyond the traditional sketch of pencil and paper. Its intimate nature allows for greater spontaneity and instinctive expression than is available in other media. The Drawing Room contains work by four artists who frequently use drawing as their primary practice.


Roman Ondak's works play with our perceptions of time and space, merging past, present and future. He subtly captures social and cultural behaviour, dreams, fantasies and ideas. Working within the parameters of conceptual art, his work involves the participation of others. He plays the role of instructor, giving the theme or idea for his work to the participants yet allowing their individual creativity to come through in the work presented. The work therefore becomes a collective imagination, examining the space between art and everyday life. In Futuropolis 2006 Ondak invited his friends and relatives to draw their vision of a megalopolis of the future, resulting in one hundred drawings presented in a naive, child-like style. Despite encompassing hope and fantasy for the future, the works rest upon the reality of the participant's present social situation.

Kyla McDonald