The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. This exhibition is supported in part by Bellwether Community Credit Union. A final selection of work will be on view beginning Decemand the exhibition will close on February 13, 2022. The work in this exhibition has been rotated twice, giving viewers a chance to see even more work by this beloved artist.

The Currier Museum shares dePaola’s belief in the transformative power of art and honors his legacy by making art accessible to children in our region. dePaola knew art to be important avenue of discovery and growth. The Currier Museum recently established the Tomie dePaola Art Education Fund to support art education for young people of all backgrounds. This exhibition celebrates the artist’s life and legacy through a selection of these illustrations. The Currier Museum of Art’s collection holds more than 100 works by Tomie dePaola. A longtime resident of New Hampshire, he has received numerous awards and accolades. dePaola had a masterful ability to express complicated emotions through accessible narratives and dynamic illustrations, filled with his warm and lively characters. Tomie dePaola (1934–2020) wrote and illustrated some 270 children’s books over his 50-year career, including picture books, folk tales, nursery rhymes, and chapter books. Ito’s work has developed a substantial cult following, with some deeming him a significant figure in recent horror iconography.“A picture book is a small door to the enormous world of the visual arts, and they’re often the first art a young person sees.” – Tomie dePaola Some of his most notable works include Tomie, a series chronicling an immortal girl who drives her stricken admirers to madness Uzumaki, a three-volume series about a town obsessed with spirals and Gyo, a two-volume story in which fish are controlled by a strain of sentient bacteria called “the death stench.” His other works include Itou Junji Kyoufu Manga Collection, a collection of different short stories holding a series of stories named Souichi’s Journal of Delights, and Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, a self-parody about him and his wife living in a house with two cats. Junji Ito (Japanese: 伊藤潤二, Hepburn: Itō Junji, born July 31, 1963) is a Japanese horror mangaka.

Tomie poster