Seymour Chwast: The Works

The full spectrum of Seymour Chwast’s creative universe comes together for the first time, in a retrospective bristling with his wit, bite, and gleefully disruptive ideas.

Bold, mischievous, and instantly recognizable, Seymour Chwast’s work has shaped the look and language of American graphic design for more than seven decades. This expansive and visually rich volume — created in close collaboration with Chwast — presents the most comprehensive account of his life, ideas, and prolific creative output.

The book moves from Chwast’s early years in the Bronx and his formative training at Cooper Union to the co-founding of Push Pin Studios, the collaborative powerhouse he launched with Milton Glaser, Edward Sorel, and Reynold Ruffins.  Across an extremely diverse number of mediums his distinctive visual vocabulary appears in all its unruly variety.

Sharp silhouettes, antic characters, deadpan humor, and a penchant for visual troublemaking reveal a designer whose imagination never settled into one mode or medium. Throughout, Chwast offers personal reflections that shed light on the influences, working habits, and provocations behind his creative decisions.

• Features a wealth of previously unpublished images and ephemera.
• Organized into generous, image-forward sections with remarkable color fidelity.
• Posters, type, woodcuts, animations, anti-war graphics, book jackets, and more all feature.
• Short contextual essays trace the evolution of his style and the ethos of Push Pin Studios.
• Includes a fold-out dustjacket with a collectible poster printed on the reverse.

A glorious book that celebrates an artist whose restless inventiveness continues to animate contemporary design while exhibiting Chwast’s ongoing engagement with social and political commentary.