Torn

Drawing Rooms
“Torn”

Exhibition Dates 9/10/26 - 10/11/26
Submissions Due 8/11/26
Artist Notification 8/16/26
We invite you to submit work for consideration in our Drawing Rooms exhibit, “Torn”.

In this show we are looking to expand on the definition of and concepts surrounding the word "torn" by featuring exciting works which result in whole or part from the action of tearing the material it is composed of (ex: collage, fiber, painting, assemblage), documentation of the residue of the action (ex: a photograph) or through the creation of a composition with competing elements or narratives which don't completely unite (ex: drawing, painting, sculpture). 

Acceptable media includes any fine art media. Artists chosen will also be considered for our other programs, such as The Art Project JC lobbies, and online Artsy.net exhibits throughout the year.

Drawing Rooms art gallery at the Mana Contemporary complex in Jersey City is a project of Victory Hall Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization.

Drawing Rooms
"Torn"

Exhibition Dates  9/10/26 - 10/11/26
Submissions Due 8/11/26
Artist Notification 8/16/26

We invite you to submit work for consideration in our Drawing Rooms exhibit, “Torn”.

In this show we are looking to expand on the definition of and concepts surrounding the word "torn" by featuring exciting works which result in whole or part from the action of tearing the material it is composed of (ex: collage, fiber, painting, assemblage), documentation of the residue of the action (ex: a photograph) or through the creation of a composition with competing elements or narratives which don't completely unite (ex: drawing, painting, sculpture). 

Many well-known artists channel their emotional energies into making work that embodies and transcends the experience of being human. They do this after internalizing events they experience (either personally or occurring outside themselves) and reinterpreting these events through elegant formal means or the juxtaposition of textures, forms and color. They may also render their work by tearing, repairing and reassembling their materials as a way of processing the events in whole or part which may or may not be visible to the viewer. There may be a sense of joy and freedom in the act of tearing a material from which something new is created. Competing elements or narratives may also create an exciting intellectual and visceral tension.

A few examples of famous artists who make work relating to this theme include: 

Lee Krasner made collage paintings inthe early 1950s born out of a literal act of destruction, where she tore up her own rejected drawings to create entirely new, acclaimed compositions.

Antoni Tàpies’ work is symbolized by the physical ripping of materials as a deep emotional response to the trauma of the Spanish Civil War and the war-torn society of the 1930s.

Lucio Fontana slashed and tore his canvases. In the 1950s, the Italian-Argentine artist rejected traditional flat painting by violently piercing and slicing his canvases. He called these works Concetti Spaziale (Spatial Concepts), which allowed real-world three-dimensional space and infinity to enter the artwork. 

Louise Bourgeois collected used household linens, bedsheets, and clothing which she cut, dissected, and re-stitched into sculptural books, turning discarded materials into physical memories. 

Conrad Marca-Relli invented a collage technique where he sliced and tore the canvas to create massive, abstract compositions. Rather than painting, he improvised by quickly cutting and ripping raw materials.

Henri Matisse used torn and cut paper to create his vibrant, late-career “gouache découpages”, in which he made abstract compositions by cutting or tearing sheets of paper painted with gouache, treating the cut and torn edges as a form of drawing with scissors.

Yoko Ono's participatory work sometimes involved the physical tearing, cutting, and shattering of objects to serve as a metaphor for the psychological and physical fragmentation caused by war and patriarchal violence. 

Vik Muniz painstakingly layered thousands of tiny, torn magazine scraps to replicate iconic masterpieces from a distance.

Jean Arp, a pioneer of the Dada movement, created abstract works using torn and pasted paper, sometimes dropping pieces onto a surface and pasting them exactly where they fell.

Frida Kahlo divided her paintings into two opposite sides to contrast different parts of her life—her Mexican roots versus her European roots, or her healthy days versus her delicate health. This division creates a powerful visual tug-of-war causing you to think and feel two things at once. 

Kurt Schwitters gathered discarded everyday objects, specifically torn paper, bus tickets, and newspaper clippings, to make complex, textured modernist compositions.

Mimmo Rotella collected advertising and cinema posters from the streets of Rome, layered them on canvas, and aggressively tore them to create new, fragmented compositions. 

Joan Mitchell created dynamic compositions featuring competing or contrasting elements, and used a diptych format that allowed one part of a composition to stand separate from or in direct visual competition with another.

Acceptable media for this exhibition includes painting, drawing, printmaking, collage, photography, sculpture or any other fine art medium. 

In keeping with our love of music, Alanis Morissette’s music embodies this theme when she asks us to consider one thing over another:

”I'm broke, but I'm happy

I'm poor, but I'm kind

I'm short, but I'm healthy, yeah

I'm high, but I'm grounded

I'm sane, but I'm overwhelmed

I'm lost, but I'm hopeful, baby

And what it all comes down to

Is that everything's gonna be fine, fine, fine

'Cause I've got one hand in my pocket

And the other one is giving a high five”

We love Alanis's music (it should be obvious by now that we have a thing for 90s music :) especially her song, “Hand in my Pocket”, as well as so many of her others.

Artists chosen will also be considered for our other programs, such as The Art Project JC lobbies, and online Artsy.net exhibits throughout the year. Drawing Rooms will feature selected works from this exhibition for sale on Artsy.net

See: https://www.artsy.net/partner/drawing-rooms 

Artists included in any of our 2026 shows will have preferred status for our end-of-the-year holiday blow-out exhibition, The Big Small Show, replete with a full weekend Opening, wine, delicious holiday snacks, and a catalog. The Big Small Show is like a party in appreciation of the artists we work with throughout the year, along with new artists we hope will continue to be part of our community. 

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EVENTS
*Opening Reception Saturday, 9/12/26, 6-8p
*Meet The Artists Sundays, 9/20/26 9/27/26, 3-5p,
*Closing Reception Sunday 10/11/26 4-6p  

ACCEPTABLE WORKS 

Size: No size limit on dropped-off artwork.

Media: painting or drawing on paper, canvas, or other media; collage or textiles, photography, prints, sculpture.

Works must be original. No AI or reproductions of original works.

All works in the exhibit must be for sale with 60% to artists and 40% to Drawing Rooms.

Submissions Due 8/11/26

ARTIST NOTIFICATION 8/16/26
Please remember to check your spam and promotions folder. If you haven't received a notification by 8/17/26, please check the status of your submission in CAFE. Accepted works will be listed as "invited."

DROP OFF
Fri 8/28/26, 5-7p, Sat, 8/29/26, 2-5p, Sun 8/30/26 3-5p

MAIL-IN
Must ARRIVE by Monday, 8/31/26

SHIPPING REQUIREMENTS
2D: ONLY unframed 18” x 24” or less, works on paper or panel/canvas may be mailed in and must fit in a padded or cardboard shipping envelope, (stay flat photo envelope / rigid mailer), or a strong tube, and you MUST include a return label or postage. NO BOXES, please. Send to the Drawing Rooms location listed.

3D: Please pack well in a box 30" x 36" x 36" or less. Work not packed well may be rejected. (Drop-off preferred)

EXHIBITION LOCATION
Drawing Rooms
926 Newark Ave. T101
Jersey City NJ, 07306
Closest PATH stop is Journal Sq

Free parking lot. 

Entrance is on Newark Avenue.

Drivers: turn into Mana/Topps building driveway.

PICKUP
Sun, 10/11/26 6-7p, Mon, 10/12/26 4-7p

MAIL BACK
Starts Mon, 10/12/26

JPGS

• You may submit up to 3 images of your work, unframed.
• Each jpg must measure at least 1200 pixels in any dimension and can be any resolution (pixels per inch).

You must be over 18