S E Y M O U R C H W A S T
W o r k s o f W a r
March 28–May 18, 2019
Binghamton University Art Museum
The Binghamton University Art Museum opened its spring exhibition at a reception on Thursday, April 4, 5:00-7:00 pm. Both the Main Gallery and the Susan M. Reifer ’65 and Stanley J. Reifer ’64 Mezzanine Gallery feature artwork by renowned American graphic designer and illustrator, Seymour Chwast. The exhibition was curated and designed by Blažo Kovačević, associate professor of art and design at Binghamton University. Although Chwast might be best known for his commercial work, the exhibition features large canvases, prints and drawings in which the artist expresses his concerns about the proliferation of weapons of war.
Seymour Chwast: Works of War takes us into a visual world led by his ever-worrying gaze. His concerns are directed toward humanity’s worst enemy— ourselves—and our inane ability to wage wars. Chwast’s drawings, woodcuts and paintings tell a familiar story that lacks a happy ending. In these spectacular scenes, often rendered on a grand scale, one cannot help but feel seduced by playful marks and pleasing repetition. But in the end, one only finds despair and doom in these seemingly enchanted worlds. There is nothing naive or child-like in ordered canvases that depict mass-produced machines of war. There is only anonymous hostility. With these scenes, Chwast captures a history of madness, a history that implicates us all.
Seymour’s style is highly reductive, yet compelling. The marks evident in his drawings, woodcuts, and paintings are measured, yet expressive; brutally honest and spontaneously birthed, they convey an imminent urgency that tests the limits of his creativity. Media are pushed to an extreme as pencil, charcoal, ink, marker, brush, chisel, paper, canvas, wood, and metal are brought to bear like weapons in a personal arsenal. Although each of these materials have proscribed limitations, his captivating method of conveying difficult messages is never spent.
There are important lessons in this œuvre. Those of us who have experienced war first-hand know that very well. For the fortunate ones who have not, this exhibition may inspire reflection on the seductive nature of a seemingly well-ordered war, of horrible violence in pretty packaging.
The artist was present at the opening reception where he engaged in a conversation with art director, critic and author, Steven Heller. Seymour Chwast: Works of War is accompanied by a catalogue, published by the Binghamton University Art Museum, which includes an introduction by the curator and designer of the exhibition and an essay by Steven Heller.
