Anuj Shrestha, in Conversation with James Heimer
Join Illustrator Anuj Shrestha for a discussion of his exhibition “No Particular Order: Illustrations by Anuj Shrestha” with Arcadia faculty member James Heimer.
Though widely recognized for his compelling commercial illustrations in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, ProPublica, and Wired, “No Particular Order” focuses on Shrestha’s personal creative output.
In Shrestha’s illustrations the viewer is confronted by volatile and divisive subjects, such as urban warfare, terrorism, displacement, racism, and xenophobia. Through his use of simple shapes, clean lines, a sparse, sometimes monochromatic palette, and subtle juxtapositions, Shrestha depicts these topics with a kind of subdued, almost mundane stillness. In this way he provides viewers with an opportunity to consider something dark and horrific in a manner that provides a psychological space for contemplation and dialogue.
Curated by Matthew Borgen with assistance from Willow Edmonds ’26, the exhibition features prints from several of the artist’s most recent illustration series and comics. Included in the show are selections from Studies, a collection of 2 panel comics relating visual and conceptual symmetry. Prologue / Epilogue, a series depicting the rubble of bombed out buildings, reflects on themes of destruction and regeneration. The exhibition will also include images taken from Shrestha’s 2018 comic National Bird which explores the presence of surveillance in a “free” society.
