Charles Burns (b. 1955) is one of the most significant contemporary comics artists. Ever since the 1980s, when his work first appeared in the legendary magazine ‘RAW’, this cartoonist and illustrator from the USA has been inspiring artists worldwide. His precise visual language, comprising clean lines and areas of deep black, combines realism with surreal distortions, pop culture, psychological depth and literary complexity. Behind middle-class facades, the fears, turmoil and loneliness of puberty emerge in nightmarish mutations. Reality, feverish delusion and intoxication merge to form an unsettling in-between world.

In ‘Black Hole’, Burns created a black-and-white masterpiece of graphic literature. This comic series tells the story of a mysterious virus that causes physical mutations among youths. It is a powerful coming-of-age tale about desire, shame, exclusion and the search for a sense of belonging.

In the colour trilogy ‘Last Look’, Burns developed interplay between reminiscence and projection. Doug, an art student, lies injured in bed and dreams of a surreal parallel world, in which he is searching for his missing girlfriend, Sarah. Drawing on elements of adventure comics and paying homage to Hergé’s ‘Tintin’, the trilogy becomes an ambiguous exploration of identity and memory.

Alongside his graphic novels, Burns has created iconic illustrations and cover art for many of the USA’s renowned magazines and newspapers.

The retrospective at Cartoonmuseum Basel showcases an artist who has created gripping narratives, positioned between poetry and horror. Nothing is clear-cut. The familiar borders on the uncanny.

Press conference: 1/7/2027, 11 am
Vernissage: 2/7/2027, 6:30 pm
Curator: Anette Gehrig