With the launch of his first American art exhibition opening today at the Philippe Labaune Gallery, we are delighted to be joined by Eisner and Harvey Award-winning artist Klaus Janson. Known for his iconic artwork on Batman and Daredevil. Janson is one of the most important and influential comic artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Featuring over 100 pieces of stunning artwork, including collaborations with Janson’s fellow comic legends Frank Miller, John Romita Jr., John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Dick Giordano, Bill Sienkiewicz, Gil Kane,Gene Colan and more.
Hi Klaus, it’s so lovely to have you here with us.
How does it feel to have your art exhibition at the Philippe Labaune Gallery?
A-I’m really thrilled to have my work hanging on the wall of the LaBaune Gallery. As you may know , it’s dedicated exclusively to comic art and it’s a privilege to be among the wonderful group of artists they’ve hosted.
In preparation for your art exhibition, did you find any art that you had forgotten about?
A-Oh certainly. The art was also in 3 different places so sorting through so much of it was quite an adventure. A lot of the work that I penciled, I’ve kept and, I think this is true, the handful of short stories I’ve written and drawn, I’ve also kept. The LaBaune exhibit consists of some interior pages but mostly splashes and covers and such. I did a small exhibit in Lyon, France in November 24, that had some sequential pages hanging and I saw people standing in front of the pages, reading the story. I really loved that and thought maybe I would do an exhibit that consisted of only sequential pages.
As an artist, is it important to you that fans can get access to your original art?
A-I like the idea that the reader understands how comics are made and what decisions go into the choices that the artist and writer makes. Seeing original art can be a fun experience but it can also be informative. I’ve seen plenty of people try to figure out how to create certain inking effects, for instance, and seeing it in real life can answer those questions.
Is there a particular illustration or art project that you hold dear to your heart?
A-Definitely the stories I’ve written and drawn, as I’ve mentioned. Certain pieces, for whatever reason, worked better than others in my opinion, and I’m a bit closer to them than others. There’s a smaller piece in the exhibit that was done for a Kirby tribute of some kind, I forget exactly. But the image is of Jack smoking a cigar riding a surfboard in space. And, for whatever reason, I’m just very happy how it turned out.
In terms of selecting art for your exhibition, what criteria did you use when selecting the art?
A-I picked pages based on whether or not they had some redeeming artistic qualities and if they were fun to look at. Can the viewer be invited into the page and roam around a bit.
What can you tell us about the upcoming art exhibition at Philippe Labaune Gallery?
It’s from March 5 to April 11th at 534 West 24th St in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. I’ll be roaming around on occasion but I’m hoping that the public will have a fun time going on a trip into the land of comics.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
A-Yes! Thanks for the last 40 years of Dark Knight Returns and thanks for the interest in my exhibit!
We would like to say a big thank you to Klaus for chatting with us and wish him the best of luck with the art exhibition.
