Blow Up, a show of works by Tomer Hanuka, Sam Weber and Yuko Shimizu, opened today at the Society of Illustrators (NYC). Opening reception will be held on September 10th, next Friday.

Three illustrators from vastly different backgrounds; Canada, Japan and Israel; meeting at the crossroads of a distinct American aesthetic to examine their new found artistic voices through personal mythologies, broken narratives and remixed identities. An open window into the visual melting pot of contemporary image making.

Weber’s monumental and moody figures draw on the western idea of the portrait, re-imagined for the modern age, where anxiety and wonder mix into a seamless dramatic whole imbued with a sense of unsolved mystery.

Shimizu’s playful imagery ties the surface of Japanese wood cut prints with contemporary issues, creating sophisticated and symbolic psychological scenes of internal worlds, broken by geometric contraption that seem to pull away and reconnect the disparate elements.

Hanuka’s visuals were developed as research for an upcoming graphic novel titled The Divine to be published by First Second (written by Boaz Lavie and pencilled by Asaf Hanuka). the images explore ideas of eternal childhood, drawing from sources like 8bit video games, Rambo and hard news.

Looks like a super cool show. Check out more here and here.

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