Kirbyvision: A Tribute to Jack Kirby
Presented by the Corey Helford Gallery and the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center
The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center, in partnership with the Corey Helford Gallery, is excited to announce Kirbyvision, an exhibition celebrating Jack Kirby’s profound influence on comics, art, and popular culture, on display June 29 through August 3 in downtown Los Angeles. This first-of-its-kind exhibit will display rare Jack Kirby original comic art alongside new works inspired by the King of Comics.
The main gallery will feature Jack Kirby-inspired works by over 70 of the top artists in the New Contemporary art scene, including new works by Anthony Sunter of Kai & Sunny, Atta Boy, Bruce Simon, Camilla d’Errico, David Mack, Eric Joyner, Jasmine Becket-Griffith, Jason Shawn Alexander, Lamour Supreme, Luke Chueh, Martin Meunier, Michael Avon Oeming, Paul Frank, Patrick McDonnell, Richard Ahnert, Stephen Bissette, Simone Legno of Tokidoki, Skinner, The London Police, Tim Seeley, and many more.
A full-size replica of a 1940s newsstand, complete with comic books, will allow visitors to experience what purchasing comics was like during the medium’s infancy. Four-foot-wide displays will feature 3-D comic pages that can be viewed with 3-D glasses.
Gallery 3, Kirbyvision: An Exhibition, curated and designed by the Jack Kirby Museum, will feature a thematic walk-through spotlighting Jack Kirby’s creations at Marvel Comics in the 1960s, his dynamic storytelling, heroes and villains, and unique graphic techniques—illustrated by over 40 extremely rare one-of-a-kind original pieces of comic art, some never seen on display before.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Corey Helford Gallery on this monumental show,” says Rand Hoppe, Director and co-founder of the Jack Kirby Museum. “This is the Kirby Museum’s first curated exhibition with a significant number of Jack’s original art pieces on display, and we can’t wait to share this work with the public.”
“Tying today’s contemporary artists with Jack Kirby’s creative output illustrates how influential his vision was and continues to be,” says Tom Kraft, President of the Jack Kirby Museum. “Putting together this selection of amazing Kirby original comic art has been an absolute privilege, and it couldn’t have happened without the contribution of the private collectors who generously allowed this work to be displayed.”
Kirby’s artwork is as powerful today as the day it was created, and his influence lives on, as seen in the remarkable new works created for this very special exhibition. CHG’s co-owner, Bruce Helford, shares: “While I was raised to appreciate Modern Art, it has always been my dream, as a comic collector, to have a show with Jack Kirby. And now I have one, and I hope it inspires everyone else the way it inspired me. His work is thrilling, dynamic, fun and if it doesn’t make you want to burst into flames, or stretch your arm around the block or surf the stars, then I don’t know what will.”
Kirbyvision: A Tribute to Jack Kirby will be on view from Saturday, June 29, to Saturday, August 3, 2024, is open to the public and free of charge. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, June 29th, from 7:00 pm—11:00 pm. The opening event is open to the public and free of charge. All are welcome at the opening—cosplay and pets are encouraged.
COREY HELFORD GALLERY
571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033
Open: Tuesday-Saturday, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
(310) 287-2340
About Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (1917-1994) was more than just a comic book artist: he was a storyteller, an innovator, and a visionary. His early work with Joe Simon on Captain America in the early 1940s saw characters breaking panel borders and narrative conventions as they fought across the pages. As superheroes fell out of favor after World War II, he and Simon helped revitalize the industry with work on crime, war, sci-fi, and monster comics while inventing the romance comic genre. By the time Kirby was doing what became his most famous and enduring work at Marvel in the 1960s, he was a seasoned veteran, yet only just coming into the full power of his creativity.
From the earliest Fantastic Four and Thor stories, Kirby crafted an entire industry that now fuels billion-dollar blockbuster movies and prestige TV shows. In a few short years, Kirby populated the Marvel Universe with an unforgettable array of characters, such as pop culture icons the Avengers, X-Men, and more. From the relatively tame early stories with those characters, Kirby’s superhero epics quickly became increasingly cosmic, mind-expanding, and ambitious in their scope.
Kirby’s prolific but strained working relationship/partnership with Stan Lee couldn’t fully satisfy his overabundance of storytelling ideas, and he left Marvel in 1970 for chief competitor DC Comics, where he served as writer, artist, and editor on his own line of books, creating an entirely new cosmology that remains a cornerstone of that company’s storytelling over 50 years after he left the very titles he founded. Biblical in tone and mythical in scope, Kirby’s 1970s output remains some of the most startlingly ambitious work ever put on display in mainstream superhero comics. His ideas and storytelling techniques continue to inform virtually everyone who puts pencil to paper in the industry.
Kirby’s stories look for the best, most universal qualities of the human experience, even as the characters themselves reach beyond the cosmos. If there were a Mt. Rushmore of 20th-century pop culture storytelling, Kirby should be etched alongside fellow visionaries like George Lucas, Gene Roddenberry, and Steven Spielberg.
About Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center
The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center is organized exclusively for educational purposes; more specifically, to promote and encourage the study, understanding, preservation, and appreciation of the work of Jack Kirby. They are committed to illustrating the scope of Kirby’s multi-faceted career, communicating the stories, inspirations, and influences of Jack Kirby, celebrating the life of Jack Kirby and his creations, and building an understanding of comic books and comic book creators. To this end, the Museum sponsors and otherwise supports study, teaching, conferences, discussion groups, exhibitions, displays, publications, and cinematic, theatrical, and multimedia productions. For more info, visit kirbymuseum.org and look for @JackKirbyMuseum on YouTube, Instagram, and other social platforms.