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Christopher Myers

クリストファー・マイヤーズ

Kurisutofā Myāzu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1974-01-01 （Queens, New York）
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Residence History
Brooklyn, New York

Career

Occupations
artist, children's book author, illustrator, playwright
Active Years
1995-2024
Affiliations
James Cohan Gallery, Fort Gansevoort, Studio Museum in Harlem
Influenced By
Walter Dean Myers, Henri Matisse, Jacob Lawrence, Quilters of Gee's Bend

Education

Brown University
Art-Semiotics and American Civilization
Degree: BA
Period: 1991-1995
Year of Graduation: 1995
Country: United States
Whitney Museum of American Art
Independent Studio Program
Year of Graduation: 1996
Country: United States

Awards

Caldecott Honor
1998
Work: Harlem
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Honor
Coretta Scott King Honor
2007
Work: Jazz
Category: イラストレーター賞
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Honor
Coretta Scott King Honor
2000
Work: Black Cat
Category: イラストレーター賞
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Honor
Coretta Scott King Honor
2013
Work: H.O.R.S.E.
Category: イラストレーター賞
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Honor
Coretta Scott King Award
2015
Work: Firebird
Category: イラストレーター賞
Organization: American Library Association
Result: Winner
BRIC Colene Brown Art Prize
2019
Organization: BRIC Arts Media
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Harlem

1997 Children's poetry

Illustrations for Harlem: A Poem by Walter Dean Myers, capturing the energy of Harlem.

Harlem cultureAfrican American identity

Black Cat

1999 Children's book

Self-authored and illustrated children's book about a black cat's adventures.

adventureimagination

Firebird

2014 Children's biography

Illustrations for Misty Copeland's Firebird, a story of perseverance in ballet.

perseverancediversitydance

My Pen

2015 Children's book

Self-authored and illustrated book celebrating the power of drawing with a pen.

creativityexpression

Bibliography

  • The Shadow of the Red Moon
  • Harlem: A Poem
  • Monster
  • Blues Journey
  • A Time to Love: Stories from the Old Testament
  • Autobiography of My Dead Brother
  • Love: Selected Poems
  • Jazz
  • Looking Like Me
  • Firebird
  • Jake Makes a World: Jacob Lawrence, A Young Artist in Harlem
  • Into the Uncut Grass
  • Black Cat
  • Wings
  • Fly!
  • Lies and Other Tall Tales
  • Jabberwocky
  • We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart
  • H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination
  • My Pen

Style & Themes

Literary Style
collage techniquespatchwork with vibrant colorsoil on cut-paperphotographic manipulation
Recurring Motifs
histories of migrationhybrid culturesreinterpretation of mythologycolonialismpolice violenceidentity

Legacy

Christopher Myers is an American interdisciplinary artist, children's book illustrator, and playwright known for tapestries, sculptures, and stained glass exploring migration, globalization, and colonialism. Famous for collaborations with father Walter Dean Myers, recipient of Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award. Works in major collections like National Gallery of Art.

Archives

  • National Gallery of Art
  • Brooklyn Museum
  • National Museum of African American History and Culture
  • Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
  • Nasher Museum of Art

Quotes

  • Ideas about authorship, collaboration, cross-cultural pollination, intergenerational storytelling, mythology, literature and the oral histories of displaced communities all converge in his literal and metaphorical patchwork tableaux … [his] sharp, emotional and sometimes dark parables express it all in bright, jubilant patterns and saturated colors.
    Source: LA Weekly (2020)

Trivia

  • Son of renowned children's book author Walter Dean Myers.
  • Founded the Make Me a World imprint with Random House Children’s Books in 2016 to promote diversity in children's publishing.
  • Known for collaborations with artisans from Vietnam, Ghana, Indonesia, and elsewhere.