Graphic Novel Exhibit at The Art Gallery at Rivier University

Rivier University is hosting an exhibition and artist’s reception for cartoonist, historian, and educator, Joel Christian Gill. His recent works are on display in a collection titled “Cartoon Chronicles—Serious, Playful, Succinct.” Gill’s works illustrate the trials and triumphs of forgotten black visionaries, revolutionaries, and everyday Americans of black history. Through his works, he aims to elicit empathy, compassion, and a deep sense of human dignity.

Gill researched, wrote, and drew the pictures for Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride, the award-winning graphic novel series Strange Fruit: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History, and Bass Reeves: Tales of The Talented Tenth. Published just last month, his latest work is a memoir. Titled FIGHTS: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence, the novel chronicles how children deal with abuse and trauma.

The exhibition at Rivier University presents enlargements of pages from Gill’s books plus the actual books and a selection of sketches and drawings demonstrating the complex process of creating a book-length cartoon sequence. “The cartoonist controls everything,” Gill reflects, adding that “comics are a medium, not a genre.”

Gill has worked for diverse clients including NBC, the Boston Globe, and HuffPost. A sought-after speaker for comic arts conventions and college campuses across the United States, in 2016 he was honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University where he received his MFA degree. Former Chair of the Comic Arts and Foundations programs at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, he was recently appointed Associate Professor of Illustration at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Sr. Theresa Couture, Director of The Art Gallery at Rivier University, shares, “This is the second of three exhibitions highlighting illustration as one of the most versatile forms in contemporary visual culture. At ease with crossing boundaries of fine art, drawing, graphic design, and crafts, it succeeds at making observational statements about an unparalleled sweep of public interests and concerns. Within this broad scope, illustration is eminently accessible.”

The exhibition is free and open to the public now through February 27. The public is also invited to a reception for the artist and a book signing on Monday, February 24, from 4 - 6 p.m. at The Art Gallery where books will be available for purchase.

GALLERY HOURS and LOCATION

Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Memorial Hall on the Rivier University campus

435 South Main St., Nashua, NH

Patrons can call (603) 897-8280 or email artgallery@rivier.edu for additional information.