American underground illustrator R.Crumb’s geniusly subversive, masterly composed comic book compositions occupy a disputed territory between art and popular culture, but in doing so establishes a bridge between the two that defies categorization.His frequently erotic, often self-deprecating, and consistently witty images have provided a consistent source of entertainment, provocation, and debate since his rise to fame in the 1960s and 70s with comic strips such as “Fritz the Cat,” “Mr. Natural,” and “Keep on Truckin.”“Art & Beauty” is Crumb’s inaugural exhibition at David Zwirner’s London gallery, the artist’s first solo exhibition in Britain following his 2005 presentation at Whitechapel Gallery, and the largest showing of the latest volume of his “Art & Beauty” series.Crumb was born in Philadelphia in 1943 and in 1991 relocated to the south of France where he currently lives and works. He uses the comic book medium to provide a satirical critique of modern consumer culture and to explore themes of sex, gender, race, politics, and social conventions. “Art & Beauty” at David Zwirner features drawings from the recently completed third volume of Crumb’s “Art & Beauty” magazines series, in which the artist combines iconography from comic books, art history, and popular culture to create an “at once personal and exaggerated typology of women.”Initially published in 1996, “Art & Beauty” portrays “a broad selection of images of female figures in diverse settings,” inspired by the artist’s collecting of vintage underground paraphernalia as well as the 1920s/30s “Art & Beauty” catalogue of semi-erotic images of life models for artists and art lovers.The artist’s latest volume of “Art & Beauty” features drawings based on photographs from a broad range of sources, including magazines, life studies, and in a significant departure from past issues, camera phone snapshots from city streets and selfies that were apparently emailed to the artist.The diverse case of female figures depicted in the new volume of “Art & Beauty” include his wife Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Eden Brower of Eden and John’s East River String Band, tennis player Serena Williams, and reality television personality Coco.Pairing his chosen cast of female tabloid celebrities, sport stars, life models, friends, and strangers with poetic yet subtly sarcastic comments and quotes from other artists, Crumb “destabilizes the relationship between image and caption,” according to the Gallery.Coinciding with the exhibition, David Zwirner Books will publish Art & Beauty Magazine: Drawings by R. Crumb, which debuts issue #3 of the magazine in combination with the two previously published issues. The limited edition of 400 copies with a signed bookplate is available here.“Art & Beauty” is at David Zwirner London until June 4, 2016
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