Image: Drawing Center, New York
The Drawing Center will present more than 100 artists in its 2026 benefit auction and exhibition, ‘The World Is The Work,’ bringing together works on paper selected by 18 guest curators. The exhibition will be on view at the New York institution from October 7 through October 11, while the accompanying silent auction will run online from September 29 at noon until October 14 at noon.
The benefit will culminate in a ticketed party in The Drawing Center’s galleries on Tuesday, October 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. During the event, guests will be invited to bid on drawings included in the auction. Tickets are listed at $175, with the institution describing the event as the concluding evening of the exhibition and auction programme.
Each curator will present a selection of five or more works on paper by artists they admire. The curatorial roster includes Valentina Akerman, Cecilia Alemani, Jenny Borland, Adam Boxer, Lauren Cornell, Rebecca DiGiovanna, Gary Garrels, Rosario Güiraldes, Ebony Haynes, Laura Hoptman, Rashid Johnson, Isabella Kapur, Anna Lee, Valérie Rousseau, Olivia Shao, Ivy Shapiro, Josh Smith and Julia Trotta.
The artist list, which remains in formation, spans multiple generations and practices. Names announced by The Drawing Center include Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Eileen Agar, Matthew Barney, Kevin Beasley, Roz Chast, Merce Cunningham, Nicole Eisenman, Sam Gilliam, Harmony Hammond, Joan Jonas, Nam June Paik, Glenn Ligon, Pope.L, Robert Rauschenberg, Dana Schutz, Pat Steir, Richard Tuttle, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Franz West and Anne Wilson. The full list also includes artists such as Aria Dean, Eliza Douglas, Marcel Dzama, Leasho Johnson, Marianna Simnett and Walter Price.
The institution has previewed several works connected to the sale, including Roz Chast’s ‘Cooler Conversation,’ described as a pen-and-ink work with wash; Dana Schutz’s ‘Walkers,’ a 2026 gouache on paper; Walter Price’s ‘no such thing as too submissive,’ made in 2022 with acrylic, colored pencil, gel pen and graphite on paper; and works by Pat Steir, Stephen Antonakos, Ellen Berkenblit and Ken Price. The works will be displayed at The Drawing Center, located at 35 Wooster Street in New York.
Bidding begins before the public exhibition opens, on September 29 at noon, and ends on October 14 at noon, one day after the auction party. The Drawing Center says that all proceeds will benefit the institution and the participating artists.
