Downtown Los Angeles’ Corey Helford Gallery is excited to present the group show collaboration, Kirbyvision: A Tribute to Jack Kirby, in partnership with the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center. Set to debut on Saturday, June 29th and be on view through August 3rd, this exclusive event will feature new and original, one of a kind artwork -- inspired by one of the most influential and prolific creators in the history of comics -- from over 70 of the top artists in the New Contemporary art scene, as well as original artworks by Kirby. Celebrating Kirby's artwork and his profound influence on comics, art, and popular culture, this spectacular exhibition will feature new works by Anthony Sunter of Kai & Sunny, Atta Boy, Bruce Simon, Camilla d'Errico, Eric Joyner, Jasmine Becket-Griffith, Jason Shawn Alexander, Jim Mahfood, Lamour Supreme, Luke Chueh, Martin Meunier, Michael Avon Oeming, Paul Frank, Patrick McDonnell, Richard Ahnert, Simone Legno of Tokidoki, Skinner, The London Police, and many more.
Kirby is widely recognized as one of the most influential and prolific creators in the history of comics. He created, or co-created, such enduring characters as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Hulk, Darkseid and the New Gods, and hundreds of others stretching back to the earliest days of the medium. But even this doesn’t fully encompass the scope of Kirby’s contributions to pop culture at large.
Throughout his half-century career, Kirby stretched the boundaries of comic art and storytelling with his innovative style. His storytelling is characterized by wild physicality that draws the reader’s eye from panel to panel, breathing life into static images in a way that few comic artists ever have. His use of multi-layered “deep space” was integral to this as well as extreme anatomical foreshortening. Stylistic hallmarks such as his trademark “Kirby Krackle” have become the industry shorthand for strange, indescribable cosmic energies. Kirby’s squiggles, whether indicating metallic shine, futuristic and alien machinery/circuitry, or dynamic musculature, are enshrined in the comic book visual storytelling vocabulary. His later intricate costume designs also invoke a cosmic comic book quintessence: Kirby headgear is a genre unto itself. Kirby machines are unlike any others, whether weapons, portals, or vehicles, they all draw in the eye and electrocute the viewing mind with their sublime technology.
Kirby’s artworks are as powerful today as the day they were created, and his influence lives on, as seen in the remarkable new works created for this very special exhibition. CHG’s co-owner, Bruce Helford, shares: “While I was raised to appreciate Modern Art, its always been my dream, as a comic collector, to have a show with Jack Kirby. And now I have one and I hope it inspires everyone else the way it inspired me. His work is thrilling, dynamic, fun and if it doesn’t make you want to burst into flames, or stretch your arm around the block or surf the stars, then I don’t know what will.”
