July 27, 2003 Renowned Illustrator Anita Kunz Honored in Exhibition
Exhibition Opens Sept. 4; Kunz Speaks on Sept. 16
Press Contact: Sheryl Cannady 202-707-6456
Public Contact: Martha Kennedy 202-707-9115
Contact: View the exhibition online.
Anita Kunz’s illustrations have graced the covers of Time, Newsweek, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times and The Washington Post magazines. The Library of Congress will showcase her paintings in an exhibition that opens Sept. 4 and remains on view through Jan. 3, 2004, in the Swann Gallery of Caricature and Cartoon in the Jefferson Building, 10 First St., S.E., in Washington, D.C.
"Canadian Counterpoint: Illustrations by Anita Kunz" features 15 paintings by the internationally recognized Canadian artist. The paintings reflect the rich thematic diversity of the hundreds of illustrations that span Kunz’s 22-year career and include political satire, acerbic portraiture, and social themes such as child abuse. She has developed a sophisticated, multi-layered technique, laying glazes of watercolor and gouache over pencil drawings on illustration board or paper.
"Illustration has the power to move people emotionally and challenge them intellectually," said Kunz. "I think the exhibit reflects that I am Canadian, with a distinctly Canadian point of view. But we Canadians are so inundated with American culture and politics that to comment visually on various American themes is not merely easy, it is vital and facilitated by the fact that I’m one step removed."
The exhibition celebrates Kunz’s generous gift of 22 paintings to the Library, which will become part of its permanent collection in the Prints and Photographs Division. Kunz is the first Canadian artist to be honored with a solo exhibition in the Swann Gallery, and she is also among the few living artists to have an exhibition mounted at the Library of Congress.
Kunz will give an illustrated lecture about her work at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16, in the Mumford Room, 6th floor of the Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave., S.E., in Washington, D.C. The event is co-sponsored by the Canadian Embassy and the Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division.
The exhibition and a full-color brochure, which includes a checklist, brief essay and illustrations, are funded by the generous support of the Caroline and Erwin Swann Foundation for Caricature and Cartoon. Hours for the exhibition are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday.
The Swann Gallery showcases the collections of the Library of Congress in rotating exhibitions and promotes the Swann Foundation program in the study of cartoon, caricature, and illustration, while also offering a provocative and informative selection of works by masters from the past and present.
For more information about the exhibition and related program, contact Martha H. Kennedy, exhibition curator and curatorial assistant, at 202-707-9115 or Harry Katz, head curator, at 202-707-8696, e-mail swann@loc.gov or visit the Swann Foundation home page at www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann. For interviews with the artist, contact her publicist Laura Goldstein at 416-483-4939, or e-mail laura@lauragoldstein-pr.com.
###
PR 03-137
2003-07-28
ISSN 0731-3527