Bill Sienkiewicz exhibition opening April 16

LIBERTYVILLE – The work of a legendary comic book artist is coming to the Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County, 1899 W. Winchester Road in Libertyville.

“Bill Sienkiewicz: Pop Culture Revolution” will be on exhibit from April 16 through Sept. 5.

Sienkiewicz is best known for revolutionizing comic and graphic novel illustration over the past four decades. The Eisner winning and Emmy-nominated artist grew up in a New Jersey farming community where there was not a lot of exposure to artists and their work, at least none that were creating comic books. He later attended the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts. It was in art school that he was introduced to the wider world of art, falling in love with abstract expressionism.

His landmark works, including Marvel Comics’ “Elektra: Assassin” and his acclaimed graphic novel “Stray Toasters,” have earned him an international reputation and cult-like following across media industries.

”The Dunn Museum is honored to work with Bill Sienkiewicz on this amazing museum exhibition,” said Angelo Kyle, president of the Lake County Forest Preserves. “The artist brings an unprecedented balance of realistic rendering and expressive enthusiasm to comics.”

The Dunn Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, a distinction held by only 3% of American museums.

The exhibition showcases sketches and original paintings spanning the artist’s career from the 1980s to present day. Visitors can view more than 60 works of art and video interviews to discover how Sienkiewicz’s renderings incorporate abstract and expressionist influences.

Many art experts attempt to differentiate between “fine art” and “illustration.” In Sienkiewicz’s mind, you can do both.

“Being an illustrator means being adept and committed to making a thing or a concept look like what it’s supposed to look like. My aim was to be able to execute what the client wanted, but through fine art techniques,” he said in a published report.

Sienkiewicz brought influences from outside the art world to his work, such as his father teaching him electrical wiring, which led him to create art with electrical components. He also incorporated jazz music and fashion illustration into his style.

“I think my innate sense is that I’m more interested in how something feels. I pursue the emotional truth of something, as opposed to simply the visual truth,” he said in the report.

Programs and events will take place during the five-month exhibit, Director of Education Nan Buckardt said.

“It is really exciting to host an exhibition that has such broad appeal,” Buckardt said. “Preschool students and their grandparents will both be mesmerized by the artwork with the same passion.”

For information and museum hours, visit LCFPD.org/museum/planning.