Do you love reading graphic novels? Do you love their varied art styles? Then check out the new exhibit, PARTY CRASHERS – a collaborative art show between the Artisphere and the Arlington Arts Center, opening Saturday, Dec. 11 – which explores the mashup between comic art and contemporary gallery culture, and features artists who pass back and forth between the two worlds.

Then go to the Library, and check out books by these Party Crashers artists:

• Bodyworld by Dash Shaw
• Afrodesiac by Jim Rugg
• Cecil and Jordan in New York by Gabrielle Bell
• Bighead by Jeffrey Brown

The Artisphere exhibit examines the ways in which comic art’s influence is evident in the pieces and working methods of fine artists. Bold black lines, flat expanses of solid color, sequential storytelling and the joining of literature and imagery are common facets of artworks made today.

The Arlington Arts Center showcases alternative comic artists who also show their original pages and drawings in art galleries; fine and comic artists working side-by-side on a national curated project, and fine and comic artists creating avante-garde, purely abstract sequential art without words or recognizable imagery.

The exhibit runs from Saturday, December 11, 2010 – Sunday, February 13, 2011. The books are available all year round, at the Library.