“Zero means ‘nothing,’” wrote the Japanese artist Saburo Murakami in 1953, “start with nothing, completely original, no artificial meaning.” Bringing together approximately 100 works on paper from MoMA’s collection, Degree Zero: Drawing at Midcentury illuminates how artists used drawing to forge a new visual language in the aftermath of World War II. Modest, immediate, and direct, drawing was the ideal medium for this period of renewal. Mimicking the look of language, it appeared as graffiti-like scribbling, or borrowed from traditional calligraphies. Its geometric forms sought to communicate universal ideals, and its accumulations of marks reflected society’s new urge to amass.

Spanning five continents, the exhibition looks across movements, geographies, and generations to highlight connections between artists who shared common materials and ideas between 1948 and 1961. Featuring works by Louise Bourgeois, Yayoi Kusama, Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Alfredo Volpi, and many others, as well as recent acquisitions by artists such as Uche Okeke, the exhibition shows how drawing allowed artists at this postwar moment to start again from scratch.

Organized by Samantha Friedman, Associate Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints.

Exhibition Date: November 1, 2020 - June 5, 2021

Location: MoMA, Floor 2, 2 South The Paul J. Sachs Galleries

Admission:

Adults: $25

Seniors: $18 (65 and over with ID)

Visitors with disabilities: $18

Students: $14 (Full-time with ID)

Children: Free (16 and under) 

Members: Free

Tickets include admission to all galleries and special exhibitions.

Entry is by advance timed ticket only. Tickets must be reserved online and will not be available at the Museum.

Members do not need to book in advance. An allocation of timed tickets is reserved for members each hour; guest privileges apply.

Free admission for NYC’s healthcare workers, from Oct 1, 2020 through Sep 30, 2021, is made possible by UNIQLO.

Admission is free for a caregiver accompanying a visitor with a disability. 

Reserve timed tickets

This event listing provided for the New York community events calendar. Community events are not associated with or sponsored by AARP, but may be of interest to you. If you have an event to share, let us know!

Images provided by AmericanTowns.com, Ticketmaster