DC, Marvel artist, and independent comic creator luminary Liam Sharp is the focus of a major exhibition at the Centro Cultural e de Investigação do Funchal in Madeira, curated by Roberto Macedo Alves. Liam will be visiting the exhibition later this month, and will personally guide visitors through the exhibition, sharing insights into the displayed works and his creative process.
Encore – The Art of Liam Sharp Exhibition opened at the Centro Cultural e de Investigação do Funchal (CCIF) last month, and runs until 18th February 2025.
The exhibition, marking the first showcase of Liam Sharp’s art in Portugal, an celebrates Liam’s entire art and career to date.
Curated by Roberto Macedo Alves, from Sétima Dimensão, the only comic publisher in Madeira, this exhibition features 71 pieces, including original artwork from Liam Sharp’s upcoming projects, as well as unpublished and personal works and monumental reproductions of his career-defining art, with panels exceeding one meter in height. These works showcase Sharp’s creative process, from initial sketches to completed pieces, offering visitors a unique opportunity to explore the intricacies of his craft.
Exhibition Vision
The exhibition’s goal is to celebrate Liam Sharp’s creativity and highlight the breadth and depth of his work, a creator internationally recognised for his groundbreaking work in comics. The display balances his commercially successful projects for Marvel and DC with his independent, experimental, and creator-owned endeavours.
The main objective, however, is to emphasise Liam’s revolutionary contributions to his independent and creator-owned projects, which push the narrative boundaries of the medium. His work demonstrates how comics can deliver meaningful and expressive experiences and narratives, showcasing the unique storytelling potential of this art form through the innovative combination of graphic styles, both digital and traditional, and diverse storytelling approaches.
The exhibition is divided into thematic sections, offering an educational and enriching experience:
Original Works: Sketches, pencil drawings, revisions, and inked finishes from published works, illustrating various stages of production.
Personal and Unpublished Works: Early career pieces, including collaborations with his mentor Don Lawrence and works created using both traditional and digital techniques.
Publications for US Publishers: Iconic characters such as Spawn and Conan the Barbarian.
StarHenge and ORE: A special focus on StarHenge, Liam’s creator-owned project published by Image Comics, and the graphic novel ORE.
Short Narratives: Reproductions of short stories showcasing Sharp’s pioneering use of digital tools in combination with traditional techniques.
Works for Madefire Inc.: Art developed for Madefire Inc., a platform founded by Sharp in 2011, which pioneered interactive comics with movement and sound.
Visitors can also view a video interview with Liam, providing insights into his work, creative process, and significant contributions to the world of comics.
Liam Sharp’s Visit to Madeira
Liam Sharp himself will visit Madeira during the last week of January 2025.
On 25th January, he will personally guide visitors through the exhibition at the CCIF, sharing insights into the displayed works and his creative process.
This guided tour will be followed by a Q&A session and an autograph signing, offering fans a rare opportunity to interact with this renowned comic creator.
• Centro Cultural e de Investigação do Funchal (CCIF): Encore – The Art of Liam Sharp Exhibition opened last month and runs until 18th February 2025 Web: cultura.funchal.pt/ccif/
The Centro Cultural e de Investigação do Funchal is housed in the historic former “Matadouro” building in Funchal, inaugurated in 1940, which has been restored and repurposed as a space for artistic creation, cultural promotion, and scientific and technological research. With a diverse program of performances, exhibitions, conferences, and social activities, the CCIF aims to blend the old with the new, fostering creativity, imagination, and active solidarity among the city’s various stakeholders, leaving no one behind.
• Liam Sharp is online at sharpy.net
• Sétima Dimensão is online at setimadimensao.com
Our thanks to Roberto Macedo Alves, from Sétima Dimensão for permission to feature his photographs
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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