Exhibition Alert: THE ORIGINAL ART SHOW at The Society of Illustrators

The Original Art Show has just opened and will only be on through November 26th, so it is important to get on over quickly to the Society of Illustrators! There really is nothing like this annual exhibition: on display is artwork from over 100 noteworthy children's books, all published in the last year and chosen by a distinguished jury. It is wonderful to see the book illustrations taken out of their context and displayed on their own, separate from the actual books. It is always interesting to compare the piece on the wall with the published book that is on the carousels in the middle of the gallery: sometimes the art is better together with the story within the book (and maybe that is the way it should be!) and sometimes the piece really stands up on it own, but in every case the fresh vibrancy of the original art is exciting to see. Here are the pictures as the illustrators made them, before they went through the filter of the printing process. When a book is selected for the show, it is the illustrator who chooses the particular picture that will be displayed. Included with each piece is the interesting "behind-the-scenes" information of publisher, editor, and art director who worked on the book, as well as the materials the artist used. For artists, students, teachers, parents, all those involved in children's books in one way or another, the show is always educational and truly inspiring with the huge range of styles and techniques on display.  An absolute must for everyone who loves books!

I was very excited to see work by three illustrators who were in class at SVA at one time or another. Congratulations to them!

Last Night by Hyewon Yum is a wordless book, the beautiful illustrations are linoleum cuts on Japanese paper. This is her first book. PW wrote in a starred review, "Yum imagines a little girl who dreams of a night in the forest with her teddy bear. Pleasure and anxiety intertwine...Some picture books are written for children; this one gives a sense of what it's like to be one."

Kristen Balouch's book is The Ghost Catcher: A Bengali Folktale with art done digitally. Kirkus wrote, ".. a colorful, magical land"

And Sean Qualls has not just one book, but two books in the show! His beautiful and elegant paintings are mixed media on paper.  Phillis's Big Test is a picture-book biography about Phillis Wheatley, the first African American to publish a book of poetry, in 1773. And with Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane, Sean has illustrated another evocative book about music. It pairs well with Dizzy, Sean's  book about Dizzy Gillespie. 

Here is a report on the opening of the show from Selina Alko, Sean's wife, on her blog.  

The Society of Illustrators is located at 128 East 63rd St, between Park and Lexington - it is the townhouse with the bright red door. Here is the link to the website for more info and hours

tags: sva  sean qualls  selina alko  interviews  

links: technorati