365/12: The Drawings of Gregory Nemec at Arc Stages
For many artists, the creation of artwork every single day is the foundation of diligence. For Pleasantville artist Gregory Nemec, it was also the foundation for Arc Stages’ new exhibition, 365/12: A Year of Drawings. Though he did not plan it from the start, his daily illustrations have found their way to the organization’s Schiffman Butterfield Gallery in Pleasantville. In October 2016, Nemec set himself the task of creating daily pen and ink drawings. As he continued, each month was assigned its own theme: for instance, April drawings were about fools and December’s were holiday-inspired. He did not allow himself to use preliminary sketches. Of this challenge, he said: “For the first time in my adult life, I allowed many imperfections to just be. The result is that these drawings are more alive and less rigid than many of my commissioned illustrations.” Each day, Nemec posted his latest drawing to social media and got recommendations from friends for upcoming subjects. He also used prompts from Instagram and researched new topics. This form of collaborative creating led to, as he puts it, “art that wouldn’t have existed any other way.” Each month’s drawings collectively fit together like the pieces of a puzzle, producing a larger work of art. The twelve resulting illustrations are displayed at Arc Stages through February 24. Nemec’s work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal and more. For more info, visit bit.ly/ArtStages_Nemec.
A version of this article first appeared in the February issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.
