'Exquisite Corpse' Drawings Open Ross School Gallery Season

The Ross School Gallery will open its exhibition season on Friday with a reception for “Extraordinary Drawings,” a show of works by invited professional artists, Ross  School art teachers, and selected Ross School students.  

Nine "Exquisite Corpse" drawings from 27 artists will be on display. "A parlor game played by the Surrealists, Exquisite Corpse is a drawing activity where three people each draw a part of the body without seeing others’ work until the piece is complete," according to information about the exhibit. 

The drawings in this show were commissioned by Ross senior Caitlin Cummings for her Modernity Project last spring. Artists who participated will see their finished works for the first time.  

Artists who participated include David Slater, Rex Lau, Eric Dever, Monica Banks, Mike Solomon, and Eric Ernst, the grandson of Surrealist artist Max Ernst, one of the original producers of Exquisite Corpse drawings. 

Also featured in show will be a 10-foot-long drawing from Christopher Haile, a Sag Harbor artist who died in 1998; a pastel drawing by Cuban artist Manuel Mendive, created on his recent visit to Ross School; and a large-scale portrait drawing by East Hampton artist Jack Ceglic. 

Also on display will be drawings from Ross art teachers Ned Smyth, Jennifer Cross, Jon Mulhern, and Ross intern Heather Erny, as well as an anatomical drawing by scientist Joseph Napolitano, whose wife is Ross teacher Mami Takeda. 

The reception will be held at the school on Goodfriend Drive in East Hampton from 4 to 6 p.m. The public invited to attend. The exhibition will remain on view through Nov. 8.