April Gornik: Drawings

April Gornik: Drawings is an extensive compilation of charcoal drawings done by Gornik (born 1953) since 1984. Lush and wide-ranging in scope and subject, these landscapes call out the wild and the cultivated, from the desert to the forest to the sea, and show both the progress and consistency in her evocative approach to drawing. As she has said, "Charcoal drawings look so unlike anything else in the world, they have their own light, their own density." Contributions include essays by Steve Martin and artist Archie Rand; a fascinating interview with the artist, conducted by Lawrence Weschler, about her approach to her studio practice and her life; and a musical offering by composer Bruce Wolosoff, who has written a stunning work for piano and cello inspired by one of Gornik's drawings (available with purchase through iTunes). Gornik's art has been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1998); Guild Hall Museum (1994); the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art (1993); and the Parrish Art Museum (1988). She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Guild Hall Museum in 2003. A mid-career retrospective began at the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, NY, in fall 2004, and traveled to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in Nebraska and the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, Ohio.