Exhibition
Chris Ware
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 has the ability to activate the reader’s gaze and give them a kind of superpower they didn’t know they had.”
Jordi Costa
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.
Curators: Jordi Costa
Participants: Chris Ware, La Gossa
Main works by Chris Ware
Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth
A story about loneliness, abandonment and complex family relationships, with strong emotional and autobiographical components.
Quimby the Mouse
Stories inspired by early comics, like Krazy Kat, where Quimby the mouse interacts with Sparky the cat in visual sequences that resemble musical scores.
Building Stories
An architectural project about existence, with 14 editorial objects that do not impose a specific order of reading.
Rusty Brown
A human (tragi)comedy that explores the beauty and fragility of the world, and the complexity of human relations.
The New Yorker
Front covers and illustrations offering a poignant chronicle of contemporary US society.
Related contents
Chris Ware and Laura Fernández
We’re celebrating the opening of the exhibition "Chris Ware. Drawing is Thinking" with a conversation between comic-book artist Chris Ware, talking about his career and his artistic language, and writer Laura Fernández.
