CHELSEA — All the world’s a stage — and this exhibit has the posters to prove it.
“Presenting Shakespeare: Much Ado About Posters," a new showcase at the ADC Gallery in Chelsea, will feature a collection of posters advertising William Shakespeare's productions staged around the globe.
The “vintage and contemporary” designs “show how the world’s greatest dramatist has influenced artists and designers to find new and relevant ways of depicting the classics,” said Steven Heller, MFA design department co-chairman at School of Visual Arts.
Heller, along with designer Mirko Ilic, recently published “Presenting Shakespeare: 1,100 Posters from Around the World,” a book of Bard-inspired posters from which the exhibit is curated.
The book features 1,100 posters created by artists from 55 countries, including Japan, India, Russia and Colombia.
The exhibit — which commemorates the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death — will feature 130 of the posters from 23 different countries.
Five thousand Shakespearean productions are staged every year, according to the book's website.
“Just as centuries of theatrical artists have reimagined his works through the lens of their own time and culture, so too have illustrators and designers been inspired to create posters that reinvent Shakespeare’s well-known themes for each new generation of theatergoers,” Heller said.
"Much Ado About Posters" will be on display at the ADC Gallery, 106 W. 29th St., from May 5-19.
