MA – Heroes & Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross

Alex Ross appears at the Norman Rockwell Museum on Saturday November 10, 2012 from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm. Commentary at 7 p.m. Autographs (limit of 2 – 3 items per person) with the artist to follow.

Press Release:

Over the last two decades, caped crusaders have literally been flying off the pages and covers of comic books and graphic novels, due in large part to the work of one very talented illustrator: Alex Ross. Known for his unique, photorealistic renderings of such beloved superheroes as Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man, Ross helped revitalize the comic book industry, capturing a new generation of readers, and bridging the gap between comic and fine art.

This fall, Norman Rockwell Museum will present a comprehensive look at the career of the artist who has been called “the Norman Rockwell of the comics world.” “Heroes & Villains: The Comic Book Art of Alex Ross” will be on view at the Museum from November 10, 2012 through February 24, 2013.

“Heroes & Villains” is the first museum exhibition celebrating the art of Alex Ross. Organized by the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the exhibition features more than 130 works, including paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures from Ross’ personal collection. Spanning the artist’s life and career, the exhibition features rarely-seen works—from his early crayon drawing of Spider-Man, created at the age of four, to his groundbreaking work for such books as “Marvels,” “Justice,” and “Kingdom Come.” “Heroes & Villains” reveals Ross’ personal and artistic goal to redefine comic books for a new generation. The exhibition also pays homage to the artist’s inspirations, including original work by his mother Lynette Ross (who was also a successful illustrator), Frank Bez, Andrew Loomis, and Norman Rockwell. Also featured in the exhibition are works by Andy Warhol, a huge comic book fan, including his “Myths” series, which mirrors many of the subjects depicted in Ross’ work.

“Norman Rockwell Museum is thrilled to be able to present the work of Alex Ross,” says Museum Director/CEO Laurie Norton Moffatt. “Just as millions of readers in the 20th century were introduced to the world of art courtesy of Norman Rockwell, that tradition continues today thanks to Ross’ beautifully painted illustrations, which combine photographic realism and imaginative storytelling.”

“Norman Rockwell has been one of the greatest influences on my art, and it is an enormous honor to be featured in the museum dedicated to his work,” notes Alex Ross. “I have always looked upon Rockwell’s style as the peak of what one could hope to achieve artistically. The artist’s realistic execution and eye for composition are things I aspire to, knowing that he performed a quality of work that isn’t easily achieved. It is a major career achievement for me to have my work in company with his.”

A members opening event for the exhibition will be held on Saturday, November 10, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with a rare appearance by Alex Ross, who will also be conducting a book signing during the evening event.
About Alex Ross

Born in Portland, Oregon in 1970 and raised in Lubbock, Texas, Alex Ross grew up in a world of colorful, painted images. Ross’s mother Lynette was a successful illustrator in the 1940s and 1950s, the same time that Norman Rockwell was becoming a household name.

At just three years of age, Ross was drawing TV commercials from memory. The following year, he began drawing images of his favorite superheroes—Superman, Captain Marvel, and Plastic Man. By the time he was 13, he was drawing and scripting comic books. At the age of 17, Ross went on to study painting at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where he was influenced by Salvador Dali’s hyperrealism, as well as by such classic American illustrators as Norman Rockwell and J.C. Leyendecker.

Ross began his professional career as a storybook artist for an advertising agency. At the age of 19 Ross received his first comic assignment from Marvel Comics – a comic titled “Terminator: The Burning Earth.” Five years later, Ross created the illustrations and cover art for “Marvels,” a full feature comic book, co-written by Kurt Busiek. Ross’s photorealistic gouache technique showcases superheroes and villains such as Spider-Man, the Human Torch, Captain America, and Galactus. His sophomore project, “Kingdom Come,” is a comic in which an alternate DC Universe is filled with aging superhero forces including Superman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern, who come out of retirement to fight modern super humans.

Ross won the Comic Buyer’s Guide Award for Favorite Painter seven times in a row, resulting in the retirement of the category.

To learn more, visit the artist’s website: http://www.alexrossart.com

Norman Rockwell Museum
9 Route 183, Stockbridge, MA 01262

CA – Curiosities Signing & Workshop

Press Release: 

Talented couple Victoria Ying and Mike Yamada have been collaborating on colorful, animation-inspired illustrations for some time. “CURIOSITIES” will be their first narrative project. Gallery Nucleus is proud to host a workshop, release party and tribute art exhibition of new original work by them and their colleagues in celebration of the new book on Saturday October 27, 2012.

Before the exhibition Nucleus will host a three hour workshop with the husband and wife team

Workshop Time: 3pm – 6pm
Workshop Admission: $50 (tickets at top of event page)

Workshop details:

Mike and Victoria will give a digital painting demo and go over their process used for the book as well as discussing the style choices and writing of the book.

Art Exhibition Time: 7pm – 11pm
Exhibition Admission: FREE 
Exhibition details:

Exhibiting Artists:
Alina Chau
Brigette Barrager
Carrie Liao
Dan Krall
Drake Brodahl
Fawn Veerasunthorn
Griselda Sastrawinata
Gwynne Simmons
Jackie Huang
Jared Andrew Schorr
Jeremy Costello
Joey Chou
Josie Portillo
Junyi Wu
Leo Matsuda
Meg Hunt
Michelle Romo
Mike Yamada
Miyuki Kanno
Oliver Akuin
Seb Mesnard
Tang Heng
Victoria Ying

More to be announced shortly!

Gallery Nucleus 
210 East Main Street, Alhambra, CA 91801

NYC – 35mm Art Exhibition

Phil Noto opens a new solo exhibit titled “35mm” at Bold Hype Gallery on Thursday, October 18, 2012 from 6PM – 9PM.

Free Admission. Open to the public

RSVP on Facebook!

Born in 1971, Phil Noto grew up in Florida and attended the Ringling School of Art and Design. After college he began a career in animation at Walt Disney Feature Animation. During his 10 year career at Disney he worked on such films as The Lion King, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan, and Lilo and Stitch. In 2001, Phil started his comic career as the cover artist for DC Comics’ Birds of Prey. Since then he has worked on numerous comic projects such as Beautiful Killer, Danger Girl, Jonah Hex, Superman/Supergirl : Maelstrom, Batgirl, Avengers, Wolverine/Jubilee and the Eisner Award-nominated, Infinite Horizon. While working in the comics field, he has also done art for magazines, video games, advertising and movies.

Phil is heavily influenced by 60′s and 70′s art and fashion. Sleek female figures, text, and retro design elements are a trademark of his paintings. He has had 4 solo exhibitions and has been a part of numerous group shows. His two art books, Jet Seven and Trans Am Champions (Brandstudio Press) sold out quickly and are highly sought after by collectors. Phil currently resides in Washington with his wife, Beth and their 2 children, Kate and Fletcher.

Bold Hype Gallery
547 W. 27th Street, New York, NY 10001

CA – Frankenweenie Signing

Helen Chen and Rustam Hasanov (Visual Development Artists) appear at Gallery Nucleus on Saturday October 20, 2012 starting at 1:00pm. Learn about their experiences on making the new Disney feature film, FRANKENWEENIE and participate in the Artists’ Panel Q&A! A book signing follows at 2:30pm.

Gallery Nucleus 
210 East Main Street, Alhambra, CA 91801

OR – Good Grief Exhibition

Press Release:

Happiness is an art exhibit honoring the work of Charles M. Schulz, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR has just that!

Exhibition curator Ben Saunders has chosen 25 originals spanning all five decades of PEANUTS that he hopes will allow the viewer to take in the origins, maturation, and final years of this great American masterwork.

Fantagraphics’ Gary Groth will make a visit on Thursday, November 8th to discuss the importance of Charles Schulz’s work within the larger tradition of newspaper strip comics. This event begins at 5:30 PM, and is co-sponsored by the UO School of Journalism.

Don’t be a blockhead and miss this exhibit! GOOD GRIEF! Original Art from 50 Years of Charles M. Schulz’s PEANUTS runs through December 1, 2012. The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located in Eugene, Oregon on the western side of the University of Oregon campus next to the Knight Library.

Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
1430 Johnson Lane, Eugene, OR 97403

GA – Beyond the Bulldog Exhibition

Press Release:

This fall, the Georgia Museum of Art presents “Beyond the Bulldog: Jack Davis,” an exhibition that will go deeper into Jack Davis’ career than the sports and caricature work for which he is best known, focusing on his black-and-white drawings in particular.

The exhibit opens on Saturday, November 3rd, and the next day, Sunday, November 4th, curator Patrick Dean, a cartoonist himself who sits on the board of the Jack Davis Foundation, will give a talk from 3:00 to 4:00 PM with a reception to follow.

Dean says, “The point of the show isn’t to shun his more popular sports drawing, but to bring attention to his work that may not be as well known to the general public. Visitors may recognize some of these images, but I hope they appreciate the level of detail Davis put into his work. Some of that detail gets lost when the images are shrunk down and printed on paper stock of varying quality. Studying Jack Davis’ crosshatching and brushwork will be a real treat to anyone who’s admired this man’s work.”

The Georgia Museum of Art is located at 90 Carlton Street in Athens, GA, at the University of Georgia. This exhibit runs through January 6th, 2013.
Georgia Museum of Art
90 Carlton Street, Athens, GA 30602

MA – The Death of Childhood Art Show

Tak Toyoshima opens an art exhibition with contributions from Sam Alden, Cherry Ali, Allison Bamcat,  Logan Faerber, Darren Goldman, Raul Gonzalez, Erica Henderson, Lincoln, Scott Murry, and Mike Pecci at the Extension Gallery of Orchard Skateshop on Saturday, October 20, 2012 from 8:00 – 11:00 pm!

RSVP on Facebook!

Orchard Skateshop
156 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA 02134

WA – The Hypo/The Carter Family Art Show

Noah Van Sciver (The Hypo) and David Lasky (The Carter Family) appear at Fantagraphics to sign their new books and open an art show on Friday, November 2, 2012 at 6:00pm. Exhibition continues through November 22.

Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery 
1201 S. Vale Street (at Airport Way S.), Seattle, WA 98108

NYC – Trolls Signing

Brian & Wendy Froud appear at the Society of Illustrators on Friday October 12, 2012 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Press Release:

Trolls opens a new realm in the celebrated faerie worlds of famed artists Brian and Wendy Froud, renowned for their vast and personal knowledge of faeries, goblins, and other folk. Featuring new and classic works by both Brian and his wife, Wendy, woven together along with artifacts and symbols of the natural world, the book creates a fascinating revelation about the world of trolls.

Not since Brian Froud’s conceptual design work with Jim Henson on the classic films The Dark Crystal and Labryinth has he created a faerie world with such imagination, dimension, depth, and detail. The texture of the world in Trolls and the deeply immersive, cinematic images will appeal to the legions of fantasy– and Froud – fans.

Join Brian and Wendy Froud at the Society as they discuss their collaboration on the new book. Book signing and reception to follow.

Tickets
$20 Non-members, $15 members, $10 students
Click here to purchase tickets

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Brian Froud is the most acclaimed faerie artist of our time. He is the international bestselling coauthor and coartist, with Alan Lee, of Faeries and the author of many other books, including The Heart of Faerie Oracle, Lady Cottington’s Pressed Faerie Book, Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, and The Faeries’ Oracle. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo Award for Best Original Artwork. He is the conceptual designer of Jim Henson’s classic films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth.

Wendy Froud is a storyteller, doll artist, sculptor, and puppet maker. She worked as a sculptor and puppet builder for Jim Henson for many years. Among her accomplishments, she sculpted Jen and Kira for The Dark Crystal and fabricated Yoda for The Empire Strikes Back. Her dolls and figures are highly sought after and are in many prestigious collections around the world. The Frouds live in Devon, England.

Society of Illustrators
128 East 63rd Street, New York, NY 10065

OR – Prophet Release Party and Art Exhibit

Farel Dalrymple and Joseph Bergin III sign at Floating World Comics on Thursday, October 4th, from 6:00-10:00pm for a Prophet #29 release party and art exhibit!

Press Release:

The new Prophet series by Brandon Graham has been one of the most exciting comics in the past year. The epic sci-fi series highlights Brandon’s cosmos-building concepts as well as artwork from a team of awesome artists including Simon Roy, Giannis Milonogiannis, Farel Dalrymple, and Brandon Graham himself. October 4th, we will display original artwork from the latest issue, Prophet #29 and celebrate the book release with artist, Farel Dalrymple and colorist, Joseph Bergin III.

BIO INFORMATION:

Farel Dalrymple – Originally from Oklahoma “by way of California”, Dalrymple is one of the founders of the New York City based Meathaus Colllective.  He attended New York’s School of Visual Arts as an Illustration major and was awarded the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal in 2002.

Best known for his work on Pop Gun War, Prophet, and Omega the Unknown, Farel also contributed to DC’s alt-anthology Bizarro World, Strange Tales, Marvel Comics’ new alt comics anthology, and Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman.

Farel’s new comic It Will All Hurt is updated regularly on the Study Group Comics website. He is currently working on a new original graphic novel called The Wrenchies, which will be published by First Second books.

Floating World Comics
400 NW Couch Street, Portland, OR 97209
(503) 241-0227

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