Marc Bauer is fascinated by the collusion of history and memory. As he peels back layers of the past, he often finds that personal and collective experiences are intertwined. Though Bauer has worked with ceramics and aluminum panels, almost everything he does begins with drawings in black and white. “[It’s] a way for me and the viewer to comprehend reality in all its complexity—subjectively, politically, symbolically,” he has said, “and show how history, memory and shifting power structures shade the present.” In 2018, the Menil began inviting a different artist every year to work on a series of wall drawings for the museum. Bauer is now unveiling the fifth installment. —Elena Clavarino