Mark Lombardi
View available
Lombardi works
Preparatory Drawings
18 april - 19 may, 2003
opening, friday, 18 april, 7-9pm
catalogue available

james guerin, isc and ferranti
intl plc c.1977-91
"dealers in military pyrotechnics" #1 (detail),
2000
graphite on paper
8.5 x 11 inches
press release
In 1994 Lombardi began a series
of drawings that he called "narrative structures." He referred
to them in this way "because each consists of a network of lines
and notations which are meant to convey a story, typically about a recent
event of interest to me, like the collapse of a large international bank,
trading company, or investment house. One of my goals is to explore the
interaction of political, social and economic forces in contemporary affairs."
The subjects of these works include BCCI, Lincoln Savings, World Finance
of Miami, the Vatican Bank, Silverado Savings, George W. Bush and Harken
Energy, among others. Early in the development of this body of work, and
in preparation for his larger drawings, Lombardi made small, rough sketches
in which he developed the formal representation of relationships. Some
of the earliest, dating from 1994, are in ballpoint pen, many others are
simply graphite on paper.
This exhibition will feature
these rarely seen drawings as a preview to a traveling retrospective of
twenty-five Lombardi works, "Global Networks," organized by
Independent Curators International, New York and curated by Robert Hobbs.
Please see bottom for all dates and locations of the retrospective exhibition.

first united
verso: cb fin,
1994
blue balllpoint pen and black ink on paper
11 x 14 inches

lincoln
verso: silverado,
1994
ballpoint pen on paper
11 x 14 inches

astra-bmarc-unwin london
c.1983-90
"dealers in military pyrotechnics,"
2000
graphite on paper
8.5 x 11 inches

arochem, bayoil and bay
industries: stamford, london, baghdad c.1988-91
2000
graphite on paper
8.5 x 11 inches
a traveling retrospective of
25 works by mark lombardi
organized by independent curators international, new york
curated by robert hobbs
january 2003 - october 2004
exhibition itinerary:
herbert f. johnson museum
of art, cornell university. ithaca, ny
25 january - 16 march, 2003
cleveland museum of contemporary
art. cleveland, ohio
30 may - 17 august, 2003
jean paul slusser gallery,
university of michigan. ann arbor, michigan
5 september - 22 october, 2003
the drawing center. new york,
ny
1 november - 18 december, 2003
yerba buena center for the
arts. san francisco, california
17 january - 4 april, 2004
faulconer gallery, grinnell
college. grinnell, iowa
18 june - 1 august, 2004
art gallery of ontario. toronto,
ontario, canada
10 september - 5 december, 2004
Bibliography: Mark
Lombardi's Library
The Recent Drawings: An
Overview
(Artist Statement)
In 1994 I began a series of
drawings I refer to as "narrative structures." Most were executed
in graphite or pen and ink on paper. Some are quite large, measuring up
to 5 x 12 feet.
I call them "narrative
structures" because each consists of a network of lines and notations
which are meant to convey a story, typically about a recent event of interest
to me, like the collapse of a large international bank, trading company,
or investment house. One of my goals is to explore the interaction of
political, social and economic forces in contemporary affairs. Thus far
I have exhibited drawings on BCCI, Lincoln Savings, World Finance of Miami,
the Vatican Bank, Silverado Savings, Castle Bank and Trust of the Bahamas,
Nugan Hand Limited of Sydney, Australia, and many more.
Working from syndicated news
items and other published accounts, I begin each drawing by compiling
large amounts of information about a specific bank, financial group or
set of individuals. After a careful review of the literature I then condense
the essential points into an assortment of notations and other brief statements
of fact, out of which an image begins to emerge.
My purpose throughout is to
interpret the material by juxtaposing and assembling the notations into
a unified, coherent whole. In some cases I use a set of stacked, parallel
lines to establish a time frame. Hierarchical relationships, the flow
of money and other key details are then indicated by a system of radiating
arrows, broken lines and so forth. Some of the drawings consist of two
different layers of informationone denoted in black, the other,
red. Black represents the essential elements of the story while the major
lawsuits, criminal indictments or other legal actions taken against the
parties are shown in red. Every statement of fact and connection depicted
in the work is true and based on information culled entirely from the
public record.
Mark Lombardi, c.1997/8
read some press
about mark lombardi @ pierogi 2000
in
memorium mark lombardi 1951 - 2000 |