The Drawing Center will present Natalie Frank: The Brothers Grimm in which Frank applies her visual and psychological acumen to that most evocative and misunderstood of literary forms, the fairytale—specifically the stories of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Only a few contemporary artists have worked with the fairytale genre; fewer still have systematically interrogated the complexity of these tales and the way in which they address social and sexual mores that continue to have relevance today. What Frank found upon perusing the original, unsanitized stories were eccentric narratives alive with sexuality and violence; stories in which the female characters in particular undergo vast emotional, physical, and intellectual transformations.

Natalie Frank: The Brothers Grimm will present twenty-nine drawings out of a total of seventy-five images dealing with thirty-six tales. The drawings are executed in gouache and chalk pastel—the first time that Frank has worked exclusively in this medium—producing both gritty and luminous surface effects. Engaging the intersection between body and mind, reality and fantasy, the series can be seen as a contemporary, feminist reimagining of a symbolist legacy. Laminated transcriptions of the stories depeicted will be available for perusal. Curated by Claire Gilman, Curator. Natalie Frank: The Brothers Grimm will also be on view from July 11–November 15, 2015 at the Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin.

Since completing her M.F.A. at Columbia University in 2006, Natalie Frank has been making a name for herself with energetic, visceral paintings that boldly embrace the liminal space between figuration and abstraction. A virtuoso painter and draftswoman, Frank is unique among her peers in her willingness to employ traditional mediums in the service of taboo themes. Focusing on the dialogue between flesh and spirit, the artist explores, in her own words, the parallel poles of “longing and desire but also disgust and fascination” that constitute humanity.

About Natalie Frank

New York-based painter Natalie Frank was born in Austin, Texas in 1980. She earned an M.F.A. in visual arts at Columbia University’s School of the Arts in 2006 and holds a B.A. in studio art from Yale University. In 2003-2004, she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for study at the National Academy of Fine Art in Oslo, Norway. She has had solo exhibitions at Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago; ACME, Los Angeles; Arndt and Partner, Zurich; and Mitchell-Innes and Nash, New York. Selected group exhibitions include Istanbul74, Turkey; The London Museum of Design, UK; Hezi Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; and Jack Tilton Gallery, New York.

Frank's work is represented in numerous collections, including Ackland Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin; The Brooklyn Museum of Art, NY; Mills College Art Museum, Oakland, CA; Montclair Art Museum, NJ; The Rose Art Museum, Waltham, MA; The Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC; The Whitney Museum of Art, New York, NY; and Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA. Her work has been covered in national and international publications and media outlets such as Art in America; Art Review; Artnet News; BOMB; Flash Art; The Huffington Post; The Los Angeles Times; Modern Painters; New York Magazine; The New York Times; The New Yorker; and The Wall Street Journal.