This weekend, Wall Eye Gallery presents Illustrious, an exhibition of illustration and design featuring work by 15 Northeast Ohio artists, as well as original sketches from Walt Disney Studios, Fox Studios and DC Comics.
"What many people may not know is that there's more to illustrations than just drawings in pen or pencil," says Joe Ayala, one of the founding partners of Wall Eye Gallery and Illustrious curator. "It's about the concepts and processes behind the work in all mediums, describing what the artist is telling you through stories, advertisements and product.
Ayala, who has been doing illustrations and comic book work for many years, is a long-time fan of drawings. "There's always something intriguing and beautiful about it. A raw quality to it," he says. "Unfinished sketches are the one I have been most fascinated with. To literally see the process and what the artist was thinking before they made their final piece, it shows that drawings are the brains and backbone of art."
As part of the exhibition, Wall Eye will showcase an exclusive preview of My Friend Dahmer, the upcoming graphic novel by Derf. The installation will include never-before-seen original pages from the autobiographical tale of the artist and his long-time friendship with the most infamous killer in U.S. history, Jeffrey Dahmer. A work-in-progress since 1994, My Friend Dahmer is the chilling memoir of their friendship and of the strange boy who struggled in vain against his nightmarish compulsions. [Left, My Friend Dahmer, Derf]
All told, Illustrious will feature more than 150 works. "Other great pieces include Justine Mara Anderson's - formally known as Dennis Crabapple McClain - ink and watercolor drawings she created for Star Wars/DC Comics, Jeffrey Lamm's collection of 70s Japanese-style Kaiju and Gojira drawings and toys, gorgeous and hilarious movie posters by Jake Kelly and original storyboards from Walt Disney Productions and Fox Studios," says Ayala.
Featured artist Arabella Proffer will be showing some of her watercolors and oil paintings. "The oil paintings I'm showing are the bizarre narratives I did while undergoing radiation treatment. It was at a time when both my beloved cat died and I was diagnosed with cancer, so the results came out as being really weird and different from my normal work," says Proffer. "I still don't know what is going on in them, but they all have cats, and the depictions have enough commercial appeal that they'll be getting published in a few magazines this summer."
