Chris Ware Exhibition at CCCB Drawing is Thinking
Chris Ware is one of the most innovative artists in modern comic books. His drawings touch us because they deal with human existence with great depth. The exhibition reviews the work and artistic thinking of a central cartoonist.
Chris Ware (Omaha, Nebraska, 1967) has been drawing—or, as he says, writing with vignettes—since he was small. Ware has experimented and innovated with comic book language and narrative throughout his life: from sketchbooks, to the iconic frontpage covers of The New Yorker, to his three essential works: Jimmy Corrigan, Building Stories and Rusty Brown.
The exhibition invites us to take a chronological look at the work of a master of the comic strip, with original pieces, animations, objects and sculptures, highlighting Ware’s invention of language.
“Chris Ware. Drawing is Thinking” invites us into the creative universe of a meticulous, artisan, emotional artist, influenced by the origins of the comic book, ragtime music and architecture, who has brilliantly narrated human emotions, racism, consumerism and the effects of politics on everyday life. For Ware, “drawing is a way of thinking”, because drawing connects us with thought and memory.
Building a Comic-Book Story Set in Barcelona
The exhibition concludes with a collective creation space inspired by one of Chris Ware’s most iconic works, Building Stories, transferring the story to Barcelona. A huge storyboard of blank vignettes covers the walls. Anyone can draw actions, memories, dreams or details in them and take part in the construction of a story based on Ware’s techniques. A proposal of La Gossa comic school (Alfredo Borés and Berta Embún), with contributions by cartoonists Cristina Daura, Nadia Hafid, Sergi Puyol and Marc Torices.
The space also has a reading and rest area, and a library with a selection of works by Ware and other works that have influenced him.
“Chris Ware has the ability to activate the reader’s gaze and give them a kind of superpower they didn’t know they had.”
Jordi Costa
Curators: Jordi Costa
Participants: Chris Ware, La Gossa
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