MTSU’s Department of Art and Design welcomes an exhibition of selected works by comics and graphic novels author and artist Chris Schweizer. Scheduled in the Todd Art Gallery, Todd Hall, Room 224A, Chris Schweizer: Selected Works will open the department’s spring 2020 exhibit calendar Jan. 21–Feb. 15.
Initially interested in drawing comic strips for newspapers, he extended his focus also to include graphic novels. Schweizer’s success includes the humorous mystery horror series The Creeps and the historical fiction series The Crogan Adventures, for which Schweizer received an Eisner Award nomination, the comics industry’s equivalent of the Academy Awards.
Says Schweizer of his current work, “I have, in recent years, spent less time making comics and more creating drawings with accompanying essays, as this awards me the opportunity to tackle a greater quantity of subject matter than does my preferred storytelling medium.
“Almost all of the art that I create is done so with the caveat that I must be able to reproduce my work efficiently. Should a piece only be seen by the patron who owns it or those who have the means to see it in a gallery, I have generally failed in the motive behind its creation,” Schweizer says. “Therefore most of my work is two-dimensional and easily shared via print or digital reproduction.”
The artist has also been experimenting with both paper and wood to create predominantly historical vignettes that can be reproduced and easily assembled by others.
Schweizer, who received his graphic design bachelor of fine arts degree from Kentucky’s Murray State University, completed a master of fine arts degree in sequential art at Atlanta’s Savannah College of Art and Design.
Chris Schweizer: Selected Works is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. For parking, directions or other questions, contact 615-898-5532 or eric.snyder@mtsu.edu.
