Marlborough Gallery hosts an exhibition of prints by Art Spiegelman from Jan 8 to Feb 2. Spiegelman launched a new comix narrative genre with his 1992 graphic memoir Maus, a Holocaust allegory, that became an international bestseller and the defining work of the medium. More books followed and his work has been featured on the cover of the New Yorker magazine and countless other publications including the seminal avant-garde comix magazine RAW which he co-founded in 1980.
Test Stone. 13.5” x 11.125”. Deb Chaney Editions, lithograph, ed. of 16, 4 AP
The exhibition encompasses over 30 years of limited edition works in silkscreen, lithography, and offset printing, and engages his favored themes—comics as a medium of self- expression, the personal and political in history, and the triumphs and tragedies of New York. While the graphic style varies from subject to subject, a mixture of humor and gravity are a hallmark. As the gallery notes: “Not one to shy from the sensational (and the urge to keep comics once-dangerous reputation alive) there is an edge of provocation and grotesquerie, but also a tenderness. It is his unflinching humanity that connects us so deeply with his work and he manifests it powerfully with his deft hand and inventive compositions.”
About Steven Heller
Steven Heller is the co-chair of the SVA MFA Designer /Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program, writes frequently for Wired and Design Observer. He is also the author of over 170 books on design and visual culture. He received the 1999 AIGA Medal and is the 2011 recipient of the Smithsonian National Design Award.View all posts by Steven Heller →