|
Indepth Arts News:
"Pop-Sequentialism: Comic Art of the Modern Age"
2011-05-06 until 2011-05-27
La Luz de Jesus Gallery
Los Angeles, CA,
USA United States of America
The birthplace of the Pop-Surrealism school of Post-Pop California Art announced the opening of an exhibition of comic book production art, spanning the last 25 years and highlighting some of the medium's most acclaimed collaborations. The historical timeline begins with Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, first published in 1986, and arrives at Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming's Powers -still publishing, and headed for a television set near you. The exhibition includes artwork from several landmark series that have crossed into the Pop Culture zeitgeist, finding audiences beyond comic book fandom, and changing the perception of the hobby and the format.
"Few art forms have gone as unchanged and unrespected for as long as sequential art, and yet none has had as tremendous an impact as the superhero comic book," says curator Matt Kennedy. "More than just dynamic artwork on a page, this is a medium that tells stories. Comic books are the American mythology, and by presenting an exhibition that celebrates the collaborations of the greatest storytellers, I'm hoping to open a fine art dialogue on the importance of this art form." This past year, ten paintings by Andy Warhol -a painter who built his career riffing on the iconography of comic books, broke auction house records with realized sales surpassing one hundred, thirty-six million dollars. This show features forty important examples of modern comic book art from multiple, award-winning writers and artists, and there isn't a single piece priced above three thousand dollars. This is a golden point of entry for patrons looking to diversify their Pop-Art collections with some of the most exciting creations from the best of the genre. It's also the first important survey of comic book art from the modern era. In years past there have been a handful of museum exhibitions showcasing art from comic's Golden and Silver Ages and there have been several shows dedicated to a single title or imprint. Never before has such a landmark, and all-encompassing collection been offered for sale as part of a single, gallery exhibition. It is perhaps fitting that La Luz de Jesus Gallery, which helped to establish fine art careers for former comic book dabblers Robert Williams, Gary Panter, S. Clay Wilson and Dave Cooper, should lead the charge.
"I started collecting some of the pieces for this show over fifteen years ago," recalls Kennedy, "and while there are a few omissions (notably Frank Miller, whose original art commands tens of thousands of dollars), I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better collection of Eisner, Harvey, and Inkpot Award winning work from the last 25 years."
IMAGE BY: WATCHMEN (1987*)
by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons & John Higgins
Issue #6, page 19: Rorschach Origin
Digital color proof (1/1) signed by artists with C.o.A.
Related Links:
| | 
|
