Beyond Words: Visual Language of the Pratt Illustration Department

Curated by Kele McComsey

October 24–December 13, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, October 24, 2025, 6–8pm

Richard Borge
Megan Cash
David Cooper
Lynne Foster
Cheryl Gross
Rudy Gutierrez
Margaret Hurst
Thomas La Padula
Veronica Lawlor
Scott Menchin
Tim O’Brien
Yuxin Pei
TLaloC

Images and words are seemingly inseparable. Just as our five senses appear indivisible from our waking narrative, so does our need to communicate those experiences in images and words, whether it be world events, personal stories, politics, memories, or myth–to name just a few.

However, before any words are read or spoken, it is the image that holds the initial power to inform, misinform, direct, or misdirect our perceptions. A well-crafted visual representation holds so much intellectual currency, even in a world oversaturated with imagery.

Illustration is often regarded as an art practice that is solely employed to obtain a specific result or to clarify that which cannot easily be explained. Although valid, the distillation of the process to technique and mission diminishes the magic that good illustrators perform: the sublimation of information into a strictly visual format. Think of Rockwell Kent’s masterful etchings for Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick . A whale suspended mid-frame in a jet-black sea, bubbles rising to the surface where a small wooden vessel floats. The sailors on board stand motionless, listening, holding their harpoons at the ready while a whaling ship awaits like a specter in the distance. With one frame, Kent conveys the narrative, mood, and tension of Melville’s story. A visual symphony where the viewer remains unaware of the instruments seamlessly flowing together to create the optical transmission. Pure magic.

Beyond Words seeks not only to highlight the achievements of the Illustration faculty at Pratt but to create a collective narrative of their brilliant works within the framework of a single gallery, while also giving each their own moment. Although many of these pieces were once created for specific commercial projects, they now take on a new meaning within this context. Shown in conversation with other genres of fine art, these illustrations reveal their equivalent capacity as a form of storytelling that is beyond words.

Kele McComsey, Curator

The Rubelle & Norman Schafler Gallery
Pratt Institute
Chemistry Building, 1st Floor
200 Willoughby Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718.636.3517
exhibits@pratt.edu

Hours: Monday–Saturday, 10am–5pm