Drawings (1984)

Drawings (1984) features William N. Copley’s exploration of the automobile as seen through ovoid, egg-like realms. Here, the interior of the car is exposed, revealing copulating couples, policemen pursuers, and homages to Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe. Originally created alongside a series of innovative paintings on raw linen, Copley’s ink and charcoal drawings from 1984 showed the artist refocusing on the car as a key subject of fascination and possibility, revisiting a theme Copley first initiated in the mid-1950s. The series was recently the subject of an exhibition held in 2023 at Galerie Max Hetzler, Paris, titled AUTOEROTICISM: Paintings from 1984 and related works.