Charles Burns exposition

'Burns in Hell'

Charles Burns is well known for his crystal clear, styled black and white illustrations and his weird stories, in which the backyards of suburbia house the most strange and terrifying creatures, likely influenced by pulp comics and monster movies from the 50's.

This was the second time his artwork was shown in Galerie Lambiek, the first time was with the Raw collective in 1986. Until 1991, Burns contributed to Raw, drawing strips like 'Dog Boy' and 'Big Baby', as well as short stories like 'The Voice of Walking Flesh' and 'A Marriage Made in Hell'.

Burns lived in Italy between 1984 and 1986. His work was introduced in Europe by this time, and was printed in magazines like Frigidaire (Italy), El Vibora (Spain), Schwermetall (Germany) and Métal Hurlant (France).

This exhibition at Galerie Lambiek showed an extensive overview of Burns' work from the early 80's, many of his breathtaking illustrations for magazines like The New Yorker, Alter Alter and Rolling Stone, the legendary group 'The Residents' and his book 'Facetasms'. Furthermore a number of memorable portraits of Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and William S. Burroughs and of course some comic pages from 'Skin Deep' and 'Croquemitaine'.

The exhibition unveiled a limited edition silkscreen with four less reassuring portraits in bright colors and a cute temporary tattoo.

The second issue of 'Black Hole' premiered during the opening of the exhibition.

Burns in Hell