Call Description

“On the Grid, Off the Grid”
Exhibition Dates 2/5/26 - 3/1/26
Submissions Due 1/9/26
 

We invite you to submit work for consideration in our Drawing Rooms exhibit, “On the Grid, Off the Grid”.

The grid has been used in art history as a tool for creating accurate and proportional drawings during the Renaissance by Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer to help maintain a consistent viewpoint and accuracy when drawing from life, or when working on a larger scale. During Modernism, Mondrian used a grid as a fundamental structure for his abstract paintings and Malevich’s Suprematist art expressed pure geometric forms and a new, non-objective reality. Agnes Martin’s structured minimalist paintings incorporate drawn lines by hand using rulers and pencils which introduced subtle imperfections that she considered crucial to the work. Sol LeWitt used the grid as a starting point for his conceptual work, creating a system with pre-defined rules and letting the system generate the final artwork.

The grid is rich with associations and use for artists, and the concept of being On or Off the Grid may also relate to our current society which relies on our interconnected and ever-widening systems of communication and media prevalent today.

Works for this show may engage a literal system of the grid or a distortion or deconstruction of the grid, and may also make reference to the cyber-connected universe we live in or to a departure from it. Or you may choose to express ideas that go “off” in a different direction entirely from the specific way you work.

In keeping with our love of music, this show is dedicated to the Beastie Boys, an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1981, composed of teen-aged Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Adam “MCA” Yauch and Michael “Mike D” Diamond. We love the energy of their music and dedicate “On the Grid, Off the Grid” to them and their song “Off the Grid”, a catchy, atmospheric instrumental track off their 2007 album “The Mix-Up”, praised for its pop sensibilities. We recognize their place in music history as brilliant young white guys whose loud and spirited music influenced the course of hip-hop at this early time in its history, both here in the US and around the world.  

Drawing Rooms will feature selected works from this exhibition for sale on Artsy.net
See: https://www.artsy.net/partner/drawing-rooms 

Artists chosen to be 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 3-day Opening, sushi and catalogue. 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. 

Drawing Rooms is a nonprofit art space and gallery in the Topps Building on the Mana Complex in the Journal Square neighborhood in Jersey City. We show two and three-dimensional works by emerging and mid-career artists in NJ and the NY metropolitan area, as well as nationally and internationally. Our innovative and exciting exhibitions, public programs and publications enrich the lives of our community through an appreciation of and involvement with contemporary art.

Drawing Rooms art gallery at the Mana Contemporary complex in Jersey City is a project of Victory Hall Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization producing exhibitions, programs, and public art projects in the NJ/NY area with a national and international reach since 2001. www.drawingrooms.org

About the Curator

Anne Trauben is the Curator and Gallery Director at Drawing Rooms, a non-profit art center and gallery. Anne began working with Victory Hall Inc. in 2009, and was a founding artist of Drawing Rooms in 2012. Since 2013, she has organized, curated and created programming for year-round exhibitions of multiple artists at Drawing Rooms in the former convent on Grand St in Jersey City, and in 2018, at the new Drawing Rooms gallery in the Topps Building. In 2020, during the pandemic, she organized, curated and created programming for Prayers for the Pandemic, a 4 part Drawing Rooms national public art exhibition, and solo / two-person exhibitions at Dvora Gallery. In 2022, after the pandemic, Drawing Rooms reopened in a newly expanded space in the Topps Building where she has since been organizing, curating and creating programming for gallery exhibitions and public art programs. Anne is the Founder, Publisher and Editor of Nieuw Art Blog since 2017.

Learn more about the call below.

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EVENTS

• Opening Reception Sat 2/7/26
• Meet The Artists Sundays  2/15/26 and 2/22/26, 3-5p
• Closing Reception Sun 3/1/26 4-6p

CURATION
The curator will choose one or more of each artist’s works and place them in context together to create visual, formal, and conceptual connections, amplifying themes and deepening ways of understanding the works.

ACCEPTABLE WORKS 

• 2-dimensional works that are unframed, framed, or mounted on cradled panel as well as 3-dimensional works will be considered. Please make sure any unframed paper works are durable enough to be exhibited with clips. We will not accept ripped, torn, wrinkled, or otherwise damaged or overly fragile paper.
• Media: painting or drawing on paper, canvas, or other media; collage or textiles, photography, prints, all sculptural materials.
• Works must be original. No AI or reproductions of original works.
• Size: Works that are dropped-off at Drawing Rooms, Jersey City can be any size. Shipped 2D works must be no larger than 18 x 24 inches, be unframed, and must meet Shipping Requirements below.
• All works must be For Sale.

HANGING PREPARATION

• 2D Works can be unframed, framed, or mounted on a cradled panel.
• If framing, please use simple frames in white, black, or wood tones, no floating acrylic frames.
• Exterior frame dimensions should be no more than 5 inches more than the height or width of artwork. (For example, a 10 x 8 inch work = 15 x 13 inches framed at largest.)
• All works must be ready-to-hang. Works can be hung from picture wire (not fishing line), D-rings, saw-tooth hangers, or the top of the frame or cradled panel. Please self-assess if your frame is strong enough for this. Cleats or any other hanging systems that require the use of screws in the wall are not acceptable.
  
  Works that present hanging problems may not be included in the exhibit.

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

SUBMISSIONS DUE 1/9/26
ARTIST NOTIFICATION 1/13/26

DROP OFF 
*Fri 1/23/26, 4-7p, Sat, 1/24/26, 2-5p
Accepted work may be delivered by yourself or someone you assign. Our entrance is on Newark Avenue. Drivers: turn into Mana/Topps building driveway. Free parking lot. Walkers: PATH train to JSQ. follow down Newark Ave.

MAIL-IN
Must ARRIVE by Monday, 1/26/26

SHIPPING REQUIREMENTS
If you live at a distance or live locally and have an extenuating issue, you may ship to our location below. 

Please Follow These Instructions. 

2D: ONLY unframed 18” x 24” or less, works on paper or panel may be mailed in and must fit in a padded or cardboard shipping envelope, (stay flat photo envelope / rigid mailer) and you may include a piece of cardboard inside the envelope if you choose, or a 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, 3/1/26 6-7p, Mon, 3/2/26 4-7p

MAIL BACK
*Starts Tues, 3/3/26

Application Requirements

JPGS

• You may submit up to 3 images of your work, unframed.
• Each jpg must measure at least 1000 pixels on any dimension.

FAQ
What resolution and size should my images be? 
Any resolution (pixels per inch) is fine. We only care about the overall dimensions (how many pixels height by pixels wide). This is called “pixel dimensions” on the Image Size function of Photoshop. Minimum size 1,000 pixels on any dimension.

Is the work insured?
All works are insured when they are in our possession. 

How are sales handled?
Commissions from any sales will be paid to the artist within 30 days of our receiving the payment, via check, PayPal or cash depending on the situation.

Why did my work not get chosen?
There are many factors which influence final selections and ultimately not all submissions can be included. We hope all the artists submitting work understand this and continue to respond to future calls.

Eligibility Criteria

• Artists must be over the age of 18.