Famed Newark Muralist and Rutgers Grad Invites Public to the 'Drawing Circle'

Before Layqa Nuna Yawar became renowned for his vibrant community-based murals and intricate portrait paintings, he enrolled in a "life-changing" figure drawing class at Rutgers-Newark.

There he discovered his path as an artist, he said, and transferred to Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers-New Brunswick, where he majored in fine art and took figure drawing every semester the course was offered before graduating in 2007.

Four years ago, Layqa returned to Rutgers-Newark to pass on the art of figure drawing to a new generation. Only this semester, his course is also open to the public.

"Figure drawing is a practice that is so necessary for any artist," he said. "I don't like to say I have talent. My brain works in ways that allow me to capture things with drawing more naturally than others, but it's a skill we can all have."

The expanded course, called "Drawing Circle," features live models and music and is integrated directly into Express Newark's new exhibit "Drawing Room."

Forget the sterile white walls and static art of a traditional gallery. "Drawing Room" transforms the Paul Robeson Main Art Gallery into a collaborative canvas that's constantly evolving.

During a recent Thursday class, under the glow of a crystal chandelier and ethereal pulse of a DJ's soundtrack, two models moved between the exhibit's Persian rugs and lush jewel-toned furnishings, striking poses for a group of budding students and community artists.

The multi-layered "Drawing Room" exhibit builds on itself week by week, as "Drawing Circle" participants animate the walls of the space with their charcoal sketches during a group critique at the end of each class.

"It is an art installation in the tradition of social sculpture - art that is shaped through collective participation," said Nick Kline, co-director of Express Newark, Rutgers-Newark's community art collaborative; Associate Professor of photography, and program coordinator for the Fine Art Program at Rutgers-Newark. "I liken it to the Fluxus Movement or 'happenings' of the 1960s that included multiple performance-based works at same time."