The Drawing Center
Timed Auction

2026 Benefit Auction: "The World Is The Work"

Tue, Sep 29, 2026 12:00PM EDT - Wed, Oct 14, 2026 12:00PM EDT
  2026-09-29 12:00:00 2026-10-14 12:00:00 America/New_York Drawing Center Drawing Center : 2026 Benefit Auction: "The World Is The Work" https://auction.drawingcenter.org/auctions/the-drawing-center/2026-benefit-auction-the-world-is-the-work-24728
This year's benefit auction and exhibition, "The World Is The Work", brings together artists, curators, and art lovers from The Drawing Center's community. Each guest curator will present a selection of five or more works on paper by artists they admire. Works will be on view at The Drawing Center from October 7 through October 11, and will be available for purchase through a silent auction benefiting The Drawing Center and participating artists. Bidding will begin on September 29 at 12:00 pm ET and end on October 14 at 12:00 pm ET. The Drawing Center rbrickman@drawingcenter.org
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Alex Kwartler, "Reply 2", 2026
Timed Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot
Lot 75

Alex Kwartler, "Reply 2", 2026

Estimate: $2,500 - $2,500
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Starting Bid
$1,500
[0 Bids]Bidding History
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Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $100
$1,000 $200
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$20,000 $2,500
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000
$200,000 $20,000

Alex Kwartler

Reply 2, 2026
Can on paper
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches (13.97 x 20.96 cm)

Courtesy of The artist

 

Selected by The Drawing Center

 

The tuna can is built into our daily lives as something dependable, practically eternal—an icon of the day-to-day, something you can never imagine not having been there nor ever going away. The temporal suspension that the routine inhabits is where Kwartler’s imaginary dwells, sinking into both a sense of monotony and an appreciation of ongoingness that paradoxically suggests a life without end, preserved by habit (or ritual, if you prefer), one that exists in a Bergsonian durée. If time can ever stretch into something that defies death, it’s in the moments when we’re opening a can of Chicken of the Sea. D.A. 

 

Alex Kwartler received his MFA from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ and his BFA from The Cooper Union, New York, NY. Kwartler has mounted four solo exhibitions at Magenta Plains. He has exhibited his work at The Green Gallery, Milwaukee, WI; 47 Canal, New York, NY; Parapet Real Humans, St. Louis, MO, MoMA PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, New York, NY; Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ; White Columns, New York, NY; Bortolami Gallery, New York, NY; Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York, NY; Martos Gallery, New York, NY; Petzel Gallery, New York, NY; and Wallspace, New York, NY. His exhibitions have been reviewed in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Frieze, Artforum and Art in America. Kwartler’s paintings were featured in “Painting Abstraction” edited by Bob Nickas and published by Phaidon Press. Kwartler was artist-in-residence at The Chinati Foundation in Marfa, TX in Spring 2017. The artist lives and works in New York, NY.

Overall Dimensions
Height: 5.50 in
Width: 8.25 in

Artworks purchased at the auction will be available for pickup at The Drawing Center beginning on October 19, 2026. Wrapping of the artwork is provided.

Please call ahead (212.219.2166 x216) to let us know when you plan to come pick up your work.

Shipping is the responsibility of the purchaser. Upon request, our staff will provide a list of shippers who deliver to destinations within the United States and overseas.