February 24 through March 25, 2012

This exhibition, located in the Cove Gallery on the ground floor, includes more than 30 drawings of subjects drawn from ordinary life, which he portrays using a mechanical line. Michael Craig-Martin: Drawings was selected from a recent exhibition organized by Alan Cristea Gallery, London. His work is in the collections of the MoMA in New York City and the Tate Gallery in London. He was recently commissioned to create a poster for the 2012 London Olympics. His work is represented by Alan Cristea Gallery, London, and Gagosian Gallery, New York, and his sculptures are exhibited at the NewArtCentre, Roche Court, Salisbury, Wiltshire.

Mr. Craig-Martin is best known for using his "universal language." He uses simple things to describe complex ideas about form and purpose. Like Claes Oldenburg, everyday objects sustain iconic meaning as Mr. Craig-Martin manipulates material and scale to maximum impact.

Mr. Craig-Martin was born in Dublin in 1941, but he grew up in Northeast Washington, D.C. He studied fine art at Yale University where he enrolled in the course designed by Josef Albers, the noted Bauhaus color theorist. A key figure in the first generation of British conceptual artists, he was a professor at Goldsmith's College, where he trained many of the YBA (Young British Artists), such as Damien Hirst and Gary Hume.

This exhibition was recently presented at The Luther W. Brady Art Gallery, which is the professional showcase for art at George Washington University. Luther W. Brady, the gallery's namesake and benefactor, is a world-renowned oncologist based in Philadelphia, who earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at GW and serves on the Reading Public Museum's Foundation Board.

Images:
Top Left
Michael Craig-Martin, Proposal in blue, red and yellow, 1991, Blue, red and yellow acrylic paint with crepe tape and pencil on graph paper, sheet size 59.4 x 83.8 cm
Bottom Left
Michael Craig-Martin, Study for MOMA project, Hand-applied black tape on drafting film, sheet size 37.5 x 55.3 cm