Left: Teeth by Sophie Crumb, 2014, watercolor & ink on paper. Right: Temporarily Blonde by Aline Kominsky-Crumb, 2012, colored pencil, pen, glitter glue on paper.
Ed Sanders isn’t the only septuagenarian firebrand celebrating a birthday. August 30 will mark 71 years of Robert Crumb, the comic (sorry, comix) artist who contributed ribald, far-out cartoons to the East Village Other, among others. While the reclusive Crumb, who lives in France these days, probably won’t be feted locally, you can at least admire the work of his daughter Sophie Crumb and wife Aline Kominsky-Crumb at an upcoming exhibit at the DCKT Contemporary.
The LES gallery is presenting recent drawings by the mother and daughter — both of whom have collaborated with R. Crumb in their Dirty Laundry series about the family’s unconventional life — in what’s said to be their first joint exhibition. Here’s some description from the gallery.
SOPHIE CRUMB’s watercolor and ink works originate in a purposefully removed place of observation and contemplation: the fashion magazine. Images of models are rendered in harsh colors and exaggerated angles, with CRUMB’s technique de-idealizing what is being “sold.” The results are borderline grotesque, pointing up manufactured glamour with dark humor.
ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB’s works originate in action, participation and performance: the personal makeover. Endeavoring to understand the desire of some women to remain “forever” younger looking, KOMINSKY-CRUMB underwent a strip-mall beauty parlor transformation at Hair Magic in North Miami Beach, Florida. The resulting self-portraits and drawings of people she met there evince a humorous vulnerability and absurdity.
Of course, both of these illustrators are fine artists in their own right: Sophie is the author of a sketchbook anthology, Sophie Crumb: Evolution of a Crazy Artist, and has been published everywhere from Vogue to Vice (she’s shown at DCKT before). Aline, who you’ll remember from the fantastic Crumb documentary, is the co-author of Drawn Together: The Collected Works of R. and A. Crumb and has been published everywhere from the New York Times to the New Yorker.
“Sophie Crumb & Aline Kominsky-Crumb,” Sept. 7 to Oct. 19 at DCKT Contemporary, 21 Orchard Street, bet. Canal & Hester; opening reception Sept. 7, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.