An artwork by Robert Ryman called Untitled, circa 1961 copyright 2023
An artwork by Robert Ryman called Untitled, circa 1961 copyright 2023

Robert Ryman: Line

David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of drawings by American artist Robert Ryman at the gallery’s London location. Organised in collaboration with the artist’s family, this exhibition will includes from the years 1961–2000, complementing the major presentation of Ryman's paintings from the early 1960s on view at the gallery’s 537 West 20th Street location in New York, curated by Dieter Schwarz. 

Featuring works made on a wide range of unorthodox supports, the exhibition underscores Ryman’s expansive approach to drawing. Much like his analytical yet intuitive exploration of the medium of painting, Ryman’s understanding of drawing reflects a singular investigation and deconstruction of the practice’s formal and material qualities. As Schwarz writes: “Drawings by Robert Ryman are not necessarily works on paper. They can also be executed on canvas, anodized aluminium, polyester cloth, Plexiglas, or Mylar, and for those in fact done on paper, that can include not just drawing paper—mostly tinted yellow or grey—but also coffee filter paper, manila paper, or glassine. For Ryman, ‘drawing’ is not about being confined to a single genre or fixated on a conventional picture support. In his practice, a drawing is an object insofar as it does not represent anything. Yet it is not an object in the sense of a fixed given: it is the outcome of a process during which he verifies the properties of the medium and the support of the drawing, connecting the two and creating a linear configuration that involves both components.”1

1 Dieter Schwarz, “Drawing the Drawing: Robert Ryman, Working the Line,” Robert Ryman: Drawings. Exh. cat. (New York: Pace, 2018), p. 7.

Image: Robert Ryman, Untitled Study, 1961. © 2023 Robert Ryman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. 

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Dates
November 30, 2023January 13, 2024
Opening Reception
Thursday, November 30, 6–8 PM
Gallery Hours
Tues—Sat 10am–6pm

“Among the minute and exacting problems that Ryman sets for himself is the place of line in visual art and the difference between drawing and painting.”

Vittorio Colaizzi, art historian, 2017

A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, circa 1963.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, c. 1963
Charcoal, graphite, and pastel on manila paper
19 x 19 1/8 inches (48.3 x 48.6 cm)
Framed: 20 1/2 x 20 5/8 inches (52.1 x 52.4 cm)

Ryman’s drawings are inextricably linked to line, which manifests as both a physical mark and a conceptual form that exists chiefly in relation to the other elements of a given composition—as a border zone between two painted passages, for example, or a partition for a matrix of gridded squares.

A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, dated 1964.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, 1964
Graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, and pastel on two (2) sheets of manila paper
19 x 19 inches (48.3 x 48.3 cm)
Framed: 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches (52.1 x 52.1 cm)

“It's a kind of basic theory of thinking about drawing that it has to do with line.… When I draw, I'm usually thinking about line, and what kind of line it can be.”

—Robert Ryman, 1992

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023.

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023

“He was enough at ease with his part in these works to use his signature as a compositional element. He wanted, first of all, to be there in the work, not to crystallize a perfect expression or a perfectly beautiful composition.”

—Carter Ratcliff, art critic and poet, 2009

A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled Study, dated 1961.

Robert Ryman

Untitled Study, 1961
Graphite, charcoal, and pastel on manila paper with gray fibers
10 x 10 inches (25.4 x 25.4 cm)
Framed: 11 x 11 inches (27.9 x 27.9 cm)

“I felt that my signature could be a line.… So I could use that in various ways.”

Robert Ryman, 2007

Robert Ryman

Untitled Study, c. 1962
Charcoal, colored pencil, graphite, and pastel on cream paper
8 x 8 inches (20.3 x 20.3 cm)
Framed: 9 x 9 inches (22.9 x 22.9 cm)

These works, like all of Ryman’s drawings, are marked by a profound intentionality; the artist carefully considers medium and support in relation to one another, striving for a holistic understanding of the drawn line in a multitude of forms.

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023.

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023

“The grid is always one of the most direct visual things, because you have the horizontal and the vertical … and they cross. And that's really very perfect.… Simple and right.”

Robert Ryman, 1972

A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, circa 1963.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, c. 1963
Charcoal, pastel, and graphite on gray Fabriano paper
20 1/8 x 20 1/8 inches (51.1 x 51.1 cm)
Framed: 21 5/8 x 21 5/8 inches (54.9 x 54.9 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Yellow Drawing #4, dated 1963.

Robert Ryman

Yellow Drawing #4, 1963
Charcoal, graphite, and pastel on yellow paper
13 x 13 inches (33 x 33 cm)
Framed: 14 1/8 x 14 1/8 inches (35.9 x 35.9 cm)

Ryman foregrounds the tensions that arise from places of delineation and intersection: at corners or edges, and between materials, surfaces, or textures. Working experimentally and iteratively, he subverts and expands the role of the line as one of the most foundational tenets of drawing.

A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Yellow Drawing #6, dated 1963.

Robert Ryman

Yellow Drawing #6, 1963
Charcoal, graphite, and pastel on yellow paper
19 x 19 inches (48.3 x 48.3 cm)
Framed: 20 x 20 inches (50.8 x 50.8 cm)

“In works like Yellow Drawing #10 (1963) … there are infinite regresses of grids within grids that frame and reframe Ryman’s selective foci. Reminiscent of his repeated emphasis on certain shapes … these squares excerpted from their greater environs give form to outlined shape.”

Suzanne P. Hudson, art historian, 2009

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023.

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023

“[The] ‘different feeling’ of a line is the feeling of its presence in the material.… Marks made by pencil, pen, intaglio, or some other graphic medium display less plasticity than paint and are more likely to be absorbed into the pictorial realm.… Ryman's generative problem in drawing is to find ways to make line acceptably real.”

—Vittorio Colaizzi, 2017

A painting by Robert Ryman, titled Spectrum V, dated 1984.

Robert Ryman

Spectrum V, 1984
Impervo enamel on anodized aluminum panel
8 3/8 x 8 3/8 inches (21.3 x 21.3 cm)

“The deciding factor, for Ryman, is the presence of line rather than the media employed or the support—paintings on paper are paintings not drawings. With the exception of dates and signatures, graphic line never appears in his painting.”

Robert Storr, artist, critic, and curator, 1993

A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, dated 1966.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, 1966
Graphite on Chemex coffee filter paper
Diameter: 12 3/8 inches (31.4 cm)
Framed: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 inches (35.2 x 35.2 cm)

“The drawing that I did on the circle-paper … that worked very well, I mean visually, because you had the horizontal and vertical straight lines and they were broken by the circle space …  which contrasted with that and contradicted it.”

Robert Ryman, 1972

A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Untitled, dated 2000.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, 2000
Black and blue ink on glassine
7 1/2 x 8 inches (19.1 x 20.3 cm)
Framed: 11 1/2 x 12 inches (29.2 x 30.5 cm)
Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023.

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023

Installation view, Robert Ryman: Line, David Zwirner, London, 2023

Inquire About Works by Robert Ryman

An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
An installation view of the exhibition, Robert Ryman: Line, at David Zwirner in London, dated 2023.
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, circa 1966.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, c. 1966
Graphite on Chemex coffee filter paper
Diameter: 12 3/8 inches (31.4 cm)
Framed: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 inches (35.2 x 35.2 cm)
A painting by Robert Ryman, titled The Watermark Series, dated 1968.

Robert Ryman

The Watermark Series, 1968
Graphite on five (5) sheets of light gray-blue textured paper with watermark of Raphael's Madonna della Seggiola
Sheet, each: 17 3/4 x 16 1/4 inches (45.1 x 41.3 cm)
Framed, each: 19 1/4 x 17 7/8 inches (48.9 x 45.4 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, dated 1966.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, 1966
Graphite on Chemex coffee filter paper
Diameter: 12 3/8 inches (31.4 cm)
Framed: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 inches (35.2 x 35.2 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Study for Five, dated 1964.

Robert Ryman

Study for Five, 1964
Charcoal and pastel on Chemex coffee filter paper
Diameter: 12 3/8 inches (31.4 cm)
Framed: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 inches (35.2 x 35.2 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, dated 1966.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, 1966
Graphite on Chemex coffee filter paper
Diameter: 12 3/8 inches (31.4 cm)
Framed: 14 x 14 inches (35.6 x 35.6 cm)
A painting by Robert Ryman, titled Blue Line Drawing #4, dated 1969.

Robert Ryman

Blue Line Drawing #4, 1969
Conte on matte Mylar panel with masking tape
12 x 12 inches (30.5 x 30.5 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Six, dated 1964.

Robert Ryman

Six, 1964
Pastel and charcoal on six (6) sheets of Chemex coffee filter paper
Diameter, each: 12 3/8 inches (31.4 cm)
Framed: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 inches (35.2 x 35.2 cm)
An untitled work on paper by Robert Ryman, dated 1966.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, 1966
Graphite on Chemex coffee filter paper
Diameter: 12 3/8 inches (31.4 cm)
Framed: 13 7/8 x 13 7/8 inches (35.2 x 35.2 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, circa 1963.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, c. 1963
Charcoal, pastel, and graphite on gray Fabriano paper
20 1/8 x 20 1/8 inches (51.1 x 51.1 cm)
Framed: 21 5/8 x 21 5/8 inches (54.9 x 54.9 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, circa 1963.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, c. 1963
Graphite, charcoal, and pastel on gray Fabriano paper
20 x 20 1/8 inches (50.8 x 51.1 cm)
Framed: 21 5/8 x 21 5/8 inches (54.9 x 54.9 cm)

Robert Ryman

Untitled Study, 1961
Pastel, casein, Conté crayon, and graphite on gray-green paper
10 x 10 inches (25.4 x 25.4 cm)
Framed: 11 x 11 inches (27.9 x 27.9 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Yellow Drawing #10, dated 1963.

Robert Ryman

Yellow Drawing #10, 1963
Charcoal, graphite, and pastel on yellow paper
19 x 19 inches (48.3 x 48.3 cm)
Framed: 20 x 20 inches (50.8 x 50.8 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Yellow Drawing #6, dated 1963.

Robert Ryman

Yellow Drawing #6, 1963
Charcoal, graphite, and pastel on yellow paper
19 x 19 inches (48.3 x 48.3 cm)
Framed: 20 x 20 inches (50.8 x 50.8 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, dated 1964.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, 1964
Graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, and pastel on two (2) sheets of manila paper
19 x 19 inches (48.3 x 48.3 cm)
Framed: 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches (52.1 x 52.1 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled, circa 1963.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, c. 1963
Charcoal, graphite, and pastel on manila paper
19 x 19 1/8 inches (48.3 x 48.6 cm)
Framed: 20 1/2 x 20 5/8 inches (52.1 x 52.4 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Yellow Drawing #4, dated 1963.

Robert Ryman

Yellow Drawing #4, 1963
Charcoal, graphite, and pastel on yellow paper
13 x 13 inches (33 x 33 cm)
Framed: 14 1/8 x 14 1/8 inches (35.9 x 35.9 cm)

Robert Ryman

Untitled Study, c. 1962
Charcoal, colored pencil, graphite, and pastel on cream paper
8 x 8 inches (20.3 x 20.3 cm)
Framed: 9 x 9 inches (22.9 x 22.9 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, called Untitled Study, dated 1961.

Robert Ryman

Untitled Study, 1961
Graphite, charcoal, and pastel on manila paper with gray fibers
10 x 10 inches (25.4 x 25.4 cm)
Framed: 11 x 11 inches (27.9 x 27.9 cm)
A painting by Robert Ryman, titled Catalyst III, dated 1985.

Robert Ryman

Catalyst III, 1985
lmpervo enamel on aluminum panel with four round bolts
23 1/8 x 23 inches (58.7 x 58.4 cm)
A painting by Robert Ryman, titled Spectrum V, dated 1984.

Robert Ryman

Spectrum V, 1984
Impervo enamel on anodized aluminum panel
8 3/8 x 8 3/8 inches (21.3 x 21.3 cm)
A painting by Robert Ryman, titled Spectrum VIII, dated 1984.

Robert Ryman

Spectrum VIII, 1984
Graphite on anodized aluminum
8 3/8 x 8 3/8 inches (21.3 x 21.3 cm)
A work on paper by Robert Ryman, titled Untitled, dated 2000.

Robert Ryman

Untitled, 2000
Black and blue ink on glassine
7 1/2 x 8 inches (19.1 x 20.3 cm)
Framed: 11 1/2 x 12 inches (29.2 x 30.5 cm)

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