October 23, 2024 – Beginning on Saturday, November 9, The Arts Council of Princeton, New Jersey will host a gallery show celebrating the art of renowned cartoonist and Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell. The exhibit will feature hand-colored, one-of-a-kind prints from McDonnell’s recent nationally best-selling book Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story and his paintings from 2023’s The Super Hero’s Journey. The Arts Council of Princeton will host an opening reception on Saturday, November 16, from 3-5 PM ET and an artist talk and book signing with Patrick McDonnell on Saturday, November 30 at 3 PM ET at the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts.
Over the years, the Mutts comic strip character known as “Guard Dog” has played an important role in raising awareness about the cruelty of tethering, and has inspired countless readers to become involved in animal welfare. Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story begins when Guard Dog is abandoned by his owner, left alone and suffering. But he’s soon discovered by his animal friends Mooch and Earl, and Doozy, a kindly neighborhood girl, who work together to rescue their friend. This exhibit celebrates the release of both Guard Dog and the new book published by Abrams ComicArts. Each one-of-a-kind print on display is hand-colored by the artist and includes an original remarque.
Imbued with the creativity, artwork, and heart of Patrick McDonnell, The Super Hero’s Journey is a graphic novel love letter to the classic Marvel super heroes including the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Black Panther, and Spider-Man. Using the Marvel Universe as avatars, McDonnell muses on how comics changed his life and inspired him to become a cartoonist, instilling a moral sensibility that he carries through his work and his life. McDonnell uses acrylic latex, oil stick, ink, and collage to create these striking paintings and create a continuation of the story of self-discovery told in his graphic novel.
“I’ve always loved the raw beauty and kinetic energy of both comic art and abstract expressionism. My art heroes include Schulz, Herriman, and Kirby, along with de Kooning, Twombly, and Basquiat,” explains McDonnell. “The paintings in this exhibition celebrate a surprising symbiotic interplay of these two dynamic art forms. Here, I explore and expand on the spiritual and political undertones of the early Marvel super hero comics of my youth: the interplay between gods and man and the divisiveness of hero versus hero. This work is a dance of nostalgic simplicity and moral innocence trying to come to terms with today’s unprecedented fear of a dystopian future with hope for a better tomorrow.”
The Arts Council of Princeton’s Paul Robeson Center for the Arts is located at 102 Witherspoon Street in
Princeton, New Jersey. The gallery is open from 9 AM to 5 PM Mondays-Thursdays, 9 AM to 4 PM Fridays and Saturdays, and from 9 AM to 1 PM on Sundays.
The Super Hero’s Journey and Breaking the Chain Exhibits will be open to the public from Saturday, November 9, to Saturday, December 7. A portion of the proceeds from the Breaking the Chain prints will be donated to the local animal shelter, SAVE, to support homeless animals and real-life guard dogs in need.
Patrick McDonnell is the bestselling author, illustrator, playwright, painter, and creator of the comic strip Mutts, which appears in more than 700 newspapers around the world. He has received numerous awards internationally, including a Caldecott Honor and the Reuben, the highest honor given by the National Cartoonists Society. He is the author of The Art of Nothing (Abrams ComicArts, 2019), The Super Hero’s Journey (Marvel Arts, 2023), and his newest bestseller, Breaking the Chain (Abrams ComicArts, 2024). He lives in New Jersey.
The Arts Council of Princeton is a non-profit independent arts organization, based in Princeton, NJ. The Arts Council was established in 1967 with the belief that arts and art education are fundamental to a healthy society and enhance the quality of life for all its residents.
