Cartoonist and illustrator Joan Cornellà's first solo show in New York City

Cornellà’s work has often been described as disturbing or flat-out offensive. Through simplistic visual language, he uses satire to comment on the sinister and often bleak side of human nature through a myriad of unconventional scenarios.

Based in Barcelona, Joan Cornellà is a cartoonist and illustrator famous for his unsettling, surreal humor and black humorous comic strips as well as artwork. With a global following, his works consist of mostly wordless 6-panel comics –the disturbing themes, extreme discomfort, often grotesque, all packaged neatly into brightly colored, beautifully rendered comic illustrations. In these times of extreme hypocrisy, Joan Cornellà sheds some light onto ourselves, unveiling who we really are, always in a humorous and disquieting manner.

During the 17-day exhibition, audiences in New York will have the chance to admire and acquire pieces ranging from unique canvases, limited edition illustrations, T-shirts, books, etc. For many days, Joan will be present at the exhibition and will be signing copies of his new book, SOT, from time to time.

Thought-provoking and incredibly entertaining, Cornellà’s work is sincere and potent in its message. “I think we all laugh at misery. We must start from the idea that when we laugh, we laugh at someone or something. With empathy or not, there is always some degree of cruelty. In spite of that, I am aware that if one of my cartoons happened in real life I would not laugh at all,” says the artist.

Parental advisory warning: The works in this exhibition contain adult themes and can be considered offensive. Children under 16 must be accompanied by parents.