“Divine Comedy” opens at WAC This April Fools’ Day
GALLERY EVENTS
Friday, March 26, 3:30-6 p.m: Draw On! with Roz Chast
Thursday, April 1, 6:30-8:30 p.m: Opening Reception
Monday, April 12, 7:30 p.m: Malloy Lecture in the Arts with Roz Chast, Bedford Middle School; Co-presented with the Westport Public Library
Wednesday, April 28, 7:00 p.m: Launch of “Cartoon Lab” Workshop Series with Fourth Wall Down Productions
Friday, April 30, 7:30 p.m: Screening of the film, "Crumb"
Tuesday, May 4, 10 a.m: Art in Context Talk with Danielle Cavanna
Fridays throughout the exhibition (9:30 – 10:30 a.m.): ArtCafé with Helen Klisser During
The Westport Arts Center is launching a new exhibition series based on the theme of storytelling, beginning with an exhibition of cartoon art, entitled “Divine Comedy: Drawings by R. Crumb & Roz Chast.” The show is on view from April 1-May 30, and will open with a public reception on Thursday, April 1, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
“Divine Comedy” will be the first exhibition at WAC curated by Helen Klisser During, the new director of visual arts, appointed in January. “I was compelled to unite all of our upcoming exhibitions at WAC this year through a theme, reviving the lost art of storytelling,” she said. In her curator's statement, Klisser During explains why she selected Crumb & Chast as the first artist storytellers: “What unites R. Crumb and Roz Chast is the poetic use of the drawn line and language to mirror the ironies of the human condition. Both poignant and brutally honest, Crumb and Chast are fearless provocateurs that take us on a journey through the complex and ever-changing comedy of life at the beginning of the 21st century.”
Works by R. Crumb—drawings from his diner placemat series that are dark, gritty, and raw—will be featured in the front of the WAC gallery. In the series, Crumb features scenes and vignettes that range between the banal to the bizarre. The Paris-based artist just completed a publicity tour of his recently-released 224-page illustrated book of Genesis, and celebrated openings at the Hammer Museum in L.A., David Zwirner Gallery in New York, and new representation by the Paul Morris gallery in NYC.
The quirky, highly stylized, and imperfectly rendered cartoons of Roz Chast will dominate the back of the gallery. Chast, who has appeared in the New Yorker since 1978, and now lives in Ridgefield, CT, is known for her cast of “everyday” characters, addressing issues such as guilt, anxiety, aging, family, and money. In addition to her cartoons, several of Chast’s three dimension works will appear in the gallery, including a series of colorful, expressive, hand-painted cartoons on real egg shells. Klisser During noted that the decision to include Roz Chast in the exhibition was a conscious one: “I knew Chast was an artist who could engage the community in meaningful ways.”
Chast is doing just that. The artist will produce a site-specific wall mural at WAC with chalk board paint, on which visitors will be invited to contribute their own drawings to on March 26 during “Draw On!” At the family-friendly event from 3:30-6pm, families and children over five will be able to see a cartoonist at work and their own short comic book stories. “Draw On!” was created by the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art as a way to encourage the entire community to celebrate drawing and to discover drawing’s potential to encourage learning, communication, and understanding.
The Westport Public Library has invited Chast to be the speaker for this year's Malloy Lecture in the Arts. The lecture series, created in 2002, with a generous gift from local resident and artist Susan Malloy, features an individual who has had a significant cultural influence and whose work has enhanced the understanding and appreciation of the arts. The free lecture will take place on Monday, April 12, in the eight hundred-seat Bedford Middle School auditorium, and will be attended by a broad cross-section of the town, including many students.
Klisser During, too, has introduced a broader sense of community to WAC in these short few months. This February she launched WAC's new Friday morning Art Cafe series. Artists, writers, art-appreciators, and community members are invited to join WAC staff in their lounge and media center from 9:30-10:30 to discuss the current exhibition and what's happening in the art world at large. The new lounge, furnished with Le Corbusier leather furniture through a generous donation from Signorello of Westport, includes an espresso machine and WiFi connection.
Other exhibition-related programs will include “Cartoon Lab,” a dynamic literary workshop series for artists and writers on select Wednesdays presented with Fourth Wall Down Productions and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Matt Davies, a screening & discussion of the David Lynch Film, “Crumb,” and a WAC signature “Art In Context Talk” with resident Art Historian, Danielle Cavanna. Program dates can be found at the WAC website, www.westportartscenter.org, or by calling (203) 222-7070.
The gallery is also open for adult gallery tours and school-group visits. Two hundred school-aged children are already scheduled to visit the exhibition. Those interested in scheduling a group visit can call Danielle Cavanna (203) 222-7070 x107.
“Divine Comedy” is sponsored in part by New Alliance Bank, with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For information about the exhibition or any other programs, visit www.westportartscenter.org or call (203) 222-7070. Gallery hours are M-F, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sat. and Sun. from noon to 4 p.m., at 51 Riverside Avenue, Westport. Works by Roz Chast are exhibited courtesy of Cartoon Bank, Roz Chast, and Julie Saul Gallery, NYC. Works by R. Crumb are exhibited courtesy of Paul Morris and David Zwirner Gallery, NYC.
The Westport Arts Center is a visual and performing arts organization dedicated to creating arts experiences that enrich the lives of area residents and the entire community. The Westport Arts Center is supported with funds from the Artur and Heida Hermanns Holde Foundation, Inc., Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Fairfield County Bank, Fairfield County Community Foundation, Gault, Inc., Independent Film Channel, Melissa & Doug, the National Endowment for the Arts, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, Westport Resources, Westport Sunrise Rotary Young Voices Program, and Xerox Foundation.
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