The exhibition _Sketch, Shade, Smudge: Drawing from Gray to Black
[https://harvardartmuseums.org/exhibitions/6465/sketch-shade-smudge-drawing-from-gray-to-black]_
highlights a wide selection of works created primarily with dark media
like charcoal, chalk, and graphite. Join curatorial assistant and
practicing artist Meghan Grady for a discussion that will focus on the
different techniques used by artists to depict LIGHT WHEN WORKING WITH
A VARIETY OF DARK MEDIA. Visitors are welcome to bring their own
SKETCHBOOK AND DRAW AS WE TALK. Please note that pencils are the only
utensils allowed to be used in the galleries._Sketch, Shade, Smudge:
Drawing from Gray to Black_ celebrates the act of drawing using
familiar tools—charcoal, chalk, crayon, and graphite. Each type of
material has distinctive properties: charcoal can be intensely rich
and velvety, or delicately gray and suggestive, while graphite is
slippery, shiny, and easy to erase. Crayon is deeply black and waxy,
whereas chalk can be crumbly and diffuse. The creative manipulations
of these media—smudging, scraping, and erasing—make them versatile
tools for adding intensity, depth, precision, and expression to an
artist’s vision.
Led by:
MEGHAN GRADY , Curatorial Assistant for Special Exhibitions and
Publications, Division of European and American Art
Please check in with museum staff at the Visitor Services desk in the
Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the gallery talk. Space is
limited, and talks are available on a first-come, first-served basis;
no registration is required.
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16/12/2025 Last update