Turbulence

Description

A man boards a boat with a valise. In his berth, he unzips his bag, revealing a small model boat instead. The man gets into the tub with his small boat, aboard a big boat, and stares through the miniscule portholes. Through these apertures he begins to see strange and terrible visions...So begins the journey into Turbulence, an artist's notebook by Henrik Drescher. Incorporating his trademark phantasmagoric illustration and collage style, Hindu creation and apocalypse myths, and amazing production elements, Turbulence is a rare opportunity for a world-class illustrator to create an artwork in book form. Quite unlike anything else currently available, Turbulence is a total immersion into a sophisticated visual experience.

Henrik Drescher is an illustrator whose work regularly appears in the New York Times Book Review, and other national and international publications. He has published over 27 children's books, and in 1992 The United States Library of Congress honored him with a solo exhibition. Drescher has lectured at Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, the School of Visual Arts graduate Illustration Program in New York, and at Art Center College of Art in Pasadena California. He frequently speaks at design conferences in the U.S.A. and Europe. Currently he is adjunct professor of design at UNITEC school of design, in Auckland New Zealand, where he lives with his wife Lauren and three kids. Previous Books: The Boy Who Ate Around (Hyperion) (10,000 units), Simon's Book (Mulberry) (50,000 units), Runaway Opposites (with Richard Wilbur) (Harcourt), Poems of A. Nonny Mouse (Knopf), Colors (Harcourt), Pat the Beastie (100,000 units).

BOOKLIST Although best known as a highly regarded children's book illustrator, Drescher squarely aims this elegantly designed artist's book at adults, and sophisticated adults at that. He offers a loose interpretation of the Hindu myth of creation, bracketing it with a vague narrative about a traveler setting off on the "ocean of bliss" and throwing in a passage depicting a "perpetual emotion machine." All that seems just an excuse to allow Drescher to display his unruly imagination and masterly graphic skills. Incorporating a vast array of techniques, from pen-and-ink and watercolor to photocollage, typography, and even die-cut cover and interior pages, Drescher dazzles with his craft and creativity. Chaotic and intense, the brief volume packs a visceral wallop before ending on a placid, nautical note. Those who have long appreciated the idiosyncratic approach of Drescher's books for kids should take a look at this challenging work for an older audience.