art, design and curation
The Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman’s Books for Children
High Museum
Atlanta, GA
The Pursuit of Everything: Maira Kalman's Books for Children
June 22–September 15, 2019
The High Museum of Art will premiere this colorful exhibition exploring the extensive catalog of Maira Kalman’s imaginative stories and illustrations, which have delighted readers of all ages for more than 30 years.
Perhaps best known for her quirky New Yorker magazine covers and brilliant pictorial essays, Kalman (American, born 1949) has published more than a dozen books for adults and 18 acclaimed children’s books, beginning with the game-changing picture book Stay Up Late (1985), which gave visual form to the popular Talking Heads song from their Little Creatures album.
Since then, her works have followed the comic adventures of multiple beloved characters, including a dog poet named Max Stravinsky, and have addressed important historical people and events with books including Looking at Lincoln (2012) and the 9/11-inspired Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey (2002).
The Pursuit of Everything will provide an immersive panorama of Kalman’s picture book career spanning three decades, including newer publications like Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote (2018), authored by U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and the illustrated cookbook Cake (2018), written in collaboration with the food writer Barbara Scott-Goodman.
This exhibition marks the High’s fourth collaboration with The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and is presented in conjunction with Max Makes a Million, a world premiere play based on Kalman’s work by the Alliance Theatre.