ENGLISH ARTIST
JEREMY EATON
TO TAKE LIBERTIES WITH VENERABLE
AMERICAN ARTFORM ON
4TH OF JULY WEEKEND!
Opening on Friday, July 3rd, from 8-10 PM, at
The Secret Headquarters on 3817 W. Sunset Blvd.,
English artist Jeremy Eaton will unveil nearly two
dozen new and recent works in his popular series of Cartoon Jumbles
illustrated paintings, featuring the irreverent pairings of cartoon
icons including Uncle Sam & Uncle Scrooge, Fred Flintstone & Alley Oop,
Little Lulu & Wonder Woman, The Yellow Kid & Mr. Natural and Mark Trail & Bullwinkle, all rendered in soft gouache watercolor tones and ink, on austere, pulp-hewn manila paper.
Called Guston-like by preeminent Seattle art critic, Regina Hackett
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer), Eaton's delicate yet forceful paintings
are full of surprises and deft trickery, with numerous unexpected shapes
appearing within their thoughtful cross-pollinations. Having commenced
upon the series during the Spring of 2008, the artist, best known for
his early '90s comics published by Fantagraphics, Kitchen Sink and other
alternative imprints, has created more than three dozen of the
paintings, many of which will be included in the Secret Headquarters
show, made available for purchase for the very first time. Response to the enigmatic series has been strong throughout the cartooning community, and beyond. It seems Eaton's plucky disassembling of such well-loved characters as Mr. Magoo, Charlie Brown, Nancy and Bugs Bunny, has pushed some notoriously opinionated buttons.
"Fractured and aggravating!" claims
Peter Bagge, the influential creator
of such groundbreaking alternative comics as
Neat Stuff, Hate and the
recent collection, Buddy Does Jersey. Clearly the work of an inspired
mind.
"You'll never encounter anything else that excites the eye and mind the
way these things do," says
Jim Woodring, creator of such mind-bending
cartoons as Frank, JIM, and the wonderfully mesmerizing
Seeing Things.
"Jeremy Eaton's Cartoon Jumbles are a triumph of wit and form. No comic
icon is safe!" declares
Chelsea Cain, bestselling author of Heartsick
and Sweetheart.
"Just open your eyes and Eaton's paintings will take you to a world that
is brave, new, and zany. It proves that there is something new and
wonderful under the sun" imparts Murray Suid, author of Words of a
Feather and co-author of Moviemaking Illustrated: The Comicbook Filmbook.
Jeremy Eaton, illustrator, writer, and cartoonist, was born in England,
in 1963. He currently lives and works in
Seattle, Washington.
His art has been utilized by a diverse list of recognizable sources,
including Walt Disney Productions,
The Village Voice,
San Diego Reader,
Sub Pop Records and
Nickelodeon Magazine.
His cartoons have been collected in more than a dozen editions,
including The Island of Dr. Moral, Sleepy, Jackass, and A World of
Trouble, by such noted
graphic novel publishers as
Fantagraphics Books,
Chronicle Books, and Drink Me Press. His original art has appeared in
galleries in Spain, Germany, and the United States.
Jeremy Eaton's commercial art can be viewed online at
jeremyeatonart.com. A plethora of his more personal work, including
paintings, experiments, childhood art, prose stories, photography etc.,
can be found on his small family of art blogs, notably Picture, J.W.E.
(
picturejew.blogspot.com). His original art can be found for sale at the
popular
comicartcollective.com
