Women Artist Spotlight: Roz Chast

Illustrator and Comic Roz Chast (in case you can’t read the small font– Pigeon Little says “The sky is falling, the sky is- Oh, look! Part of a bagel.”

Today I start a new series on my blog called “women Artist spotlight.” I was motivated to write about women artists after learning that the Daring Book for Girls did not include female artists in their section recommending artists to young women.  My first post was Ten Women Artists Every Young Girl Should know About and you can read that here. I was thinking about that post recently and recognize that dozens more talented artists could make the list.

Exhibition in at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich

This comic was not part of the exhibition,  but hangs on my studio wall and can be  purchased on Conde Nast website

Last weekend my husband offered to take me on a little day trip. For some reason, he considers a 30 minute car ride to Greenwich “close” whereas a 30 minute train ride to NYC is “far” but I knew that there was a little exhibition in Greenwich I wanted to see so I didn’t argue. The Bruce Museum which is just off of exit 3 on I-95 is a small museum to start. If you are somewhere in the New York- CT region, this is a great museum to take kids to since the museum has a small but wonderful natural history exhibit and across the street there is a large playground with jungle gyms shaped like dinosaurs that overlooks the Long Island Sound.

Being, Nothingness and Much, Much More: Roz Chast, Beyond the New Yorker

 

This New Yorker cover and others  can be seen on the artist’s website

Roz Chast is best known as a cartoonist and illustrator for the New Yorker. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of design she has been a contributing regular cartoonist for the New Yorker since the late 1970’s Her exhibit occupies a small square room but you will need time to read each cartoon. The children may not understand the sophistication behind the “obsessive compulsive Santa” who lies on his therapist couch and talks about rechecking his lists. Another favorite was the illustration of the fretting “Little Engine that Coulda Woulda Shoulda.”

 

Hand carved stamps

Beyond the cartoons

The exhibition promises to go beyond the cartoons and mixed media artists will love her hand carved stamps. They display both the stamps and the art created by the stamps. In addition there is a display of her hand painted eggs and also a  tapestry she made of her father.  I loved seeing the other projects which made me feel that she is “just like us” working on her personal crafts as well as her “commercial art” and I wonder if she keeps an art journal.

Pansky style painted eggs. The show in Greenwich runs through October 19, 2014

 

Where you can find her art

You will want to spend a lot of time in the gift shop ( I am a gift shop junkie)  reading the greeting cards or perhaps getting one of her books (as I did) For those not in the area you can find her art in the New Yorker or on Amazon. Here are some of my top picks. I love her neurotic humor with whimsically drawn characters.You can click on each book to collect it on Amazon.

At Home with Roz Chast: The New Yorker Video

There is a wonderful video on the museum website courtesy of The New Yorker. In it you get a glimpse of her studio, her characters and her neurotic parrot. ( why are our pets just like us? I have an anxious cat.)

If you liked this post, be sure to check out:

• Ten Women Artists Every Young Girl Should know About!

Do you like this artist? Tell me what you think!