The New York Times celebrates it’s “most memorable illustrations of 2021”
We are thrilled The New York Times is celebrating great illustration talent. To amplify this celebration, the Directory of Illustration is excited to release an article of our own, featuring exclusive comments from the artists themselves.
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Congratulations to all the featured artists, including:
Justin Metz | Max Loeffler
Deena So’Oteh | Bianca Bangarelli | Clare Lewis | Ojima Abalaka
Chloe Niclas | Paola Saliby | Andrew Rae | Karlotta Freier | Moritz Wienert
Image Credit: Justin Metz & Annie Jen
Justin Metz, represented by Début Art
“The Untold Story of the NFT Boom”
From the Artist: With NFT’s being a hot topic it was great to be asked to collaborate on this project by Annie at the New York Times, I’m delighted it was made one of their most memorable illustrations of 2021.
Image Credit: Max Loeffler
Max Loeffler, represented by Début Art
“As Money Launderers Buy Dalís, U.S. Looks at Lifting the Veil on Art Sales”
From the Artist: I’m quite excited to have my work featured in the 2021 illustration review of The New York Times! The motif was the first concept that came to my mind after reading the draft, and sometimes these first ones are the best. Overall the process was super smooth and I especially enjoyed creating the artwork within the artwork.
Image Credit: Deena So’Oteh
Deena So’Oteh
“Read It and Scream: 8 New Horror Novels to Read This Season”
From the Artist: When reading psychological thrillers/horrors, I tend to think of being submerged into a different dimension where your vision is skewed and you “drown” in the psychosis of it all. For the NYT Book Review Horror Round up article I wanted to convey that feeling.
Image Credit: Bianca Bangarelli
Bianca Bangarelli
“What the Future May Hold for the Coronavirus and Us”
About the Work: How to depict the future of Covid, when no one knows what will happen? Bianca solved the problem in an abstract and surprising way, with lines drawn by marbles on the sand. — Rodrigo Honeywell, Art Director
Image Credit: Bianca Bangarelli
Bianca Bangarelli
“What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Worst”
From the Artist: I try to always remember that every element of a drawing is a way to tell something, and not just the most obvious ones like the expression of a face or the pose of a character: the light makes for a specific time of the day, clothes and objects tell their own story of a certain time and place.
Image Credit: Lan Truong, Mark Ochinero, C. W. Moss, Clare Lewis, Ohni Lisle and Lorenzo Gritti
Clare Lewis
“How Garfield Helped Me Make Peace With a Culture in Decline”
From the Artist: Soft, squishy and tender… that’s how I like my artwork. Working instinctively, I play with textures, blending marks to smudge an image together. There is a layer of humor to my work, focussing in on those everyday moments and characterizing inanimate objects, household pests or the rosy cheeked baby on the train.
Image Credit: Ojima Abalaka
Ojima Abalaka
“A New John Oliver Killens Novel Arrives, Three Decades After His Death”
From the Artist: This was a sketch that got approved as the final illustration. I was prepared to go full color but we all agreed that with a few refinements, the lines worked great by themselves.
Image Credit: Chloe Niclas
Chloe Niclas
“The Wonders That Live at the Very Bottom of the Sea”
From the Artist: This was my first time working with the New York Times, and was honored to be approached for illustrating the Book Review. It was a dream project in many ways, as the subject matter of the bioluminescent unearthly beings in the deep sea have long been a source of fascination for me. I enjoyed getting to learn and research more about them, and made sure to place some of the most bizarre looking creatures front and center. There are many more that I wish I could have included, and would have easily spent months drawing these on my own time. It is a wonderous alien world unto itself, but as fragile as the rest of our planet. The discarded bottle is a subtle focal point towards which the creatures gesture, reminding us that their environment is under threat from human interference. I am grateful for the incredible art direction that I had for this project, and was amazed and humbled to learn it had been selected as one of the New York Times’s most memorable illustrations of 2021.
Image Credit: Paola Saliby
Paola Saliby
“The Climate Crisis Is Worse for Women. Here’s Why”
From the Artist: The article is about how women and girls are generally more vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, and women of color from rural communities across the globe are even more affected. She’s struggling and being invaded, the dress representing vulnerability, but she’s also strong and she’s fighting against the intrusive elements that have a negative impact on her life. Women are not only victims of the climate crisis, but there are also resilient and powerful agents of change, so I wanted to illustrate a strong female character, a care-giving human being and a mother.
Image Credit: Andrew Rae
Andrew Rae
“The G.O.P. Won It All in Texas. Then It Turned on Itself”
From the Artist: Living in leafy North London near Hampstead Heath my knowledge of all things Texan are limited so it was good to know that I had Caleb Bennett a living breathing Texan art directing to push me in the right direction to rein me in when I got a bit carried away. I was pleased that he was brave enough to print in black and white even though we had a full palette at our disposal.
Image Credit: Karlotta Freier
Karlotta Freier
“How to Let Go of Your Irreplaceable, Unstoppable Daughter”
From the Artist: It was an interesting piece for me. I moved to the US from Germany 3 years ago, to study illustration. Even though I turned 30 this year, it’s not easy for my mum that I am so far away. I could really relate to that special mother-daughter connection that Kelly Corrigan describes. And the article also gave me a new perspective on my mother’s feelings.
Image Credit: Moritz Wienert
Moritz Wienert
“The Main Reason for Your Pandemic Boredom”
From the Artist: In the illustration, I wanted to show the everyday boredom and the difficulties of being stuck at home that a lot of us experienced during the pandemic.
