Chris Ware's Columbus exhibition opens a window onto how comics are made
Life Is Complicated combines original drawings with notes, sketches and other objects at the free Billy Ireland museum.
Image: AI-generated illustrative photograph of generic drawing tools and blank comic-panel studies; not Chris Ware artwork, a reproduction or a Billy Ireland exhibition object.
A finished comics page guides the reader's eye so smoothly that the decisions behind it can disappear. Chris Ware: Life Is Complicated at Ohio State's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum offers a chance to look closer at that work through drawings, notes, sketches and objects assembled into an artist-designed exhibition.
The museum lists the exhibition from May 23, 2026 through May 9, 2027. Alongside original art, it includes sculptures, paintings and auxiliary objects, with some material too fragile for the exhibition's earlier international travel. The selection invites attention to the process and physical making behind the published page.
The museum is in Sullivant Hall, 1813 North High Street. Gallery admission is free and walk-in visitors are welcome. Its current hours page lists 1–5 p.m. Tuesday–Friday and Sunday, with Monday and Saturday closures; check the live schedule, university holidays and campus travel notices before going.
Pick one sequence or drawing to study before reading every explanation. Notice how spacing, scale and repetition influence the way time seems to pass. Research use of the library's collection is separate from a gallery visit and currently requires advance arrangements. A short exhibition visit can stand on its own, while also opening a new way to read comics afterward.
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