This first retrospective of Eldon Dedini's work gathers the most sophisticated, elegant and funny gag panels of the past six decades.
For over 45 years, Dedini has been one of Playboy magazine's most recognizable full-page gag cartoonists. Initially hired by Disney in the 1940s, but refusing to end up as another anonymous illustrator, Dedini worked nights and weekends to develop his own style. He sold dozens of cartoons to Esquire, then moved to Playboy in 1960.
Dedini's masterful watercolour technique burlesques a broad range of subjects, from urban hipster to classical Japanese erotic prints. His most personal cartoons rely on mythology and legend, evoking a bucolic sexually liberated paradise that leaves its readers lingering over the imagery long after the gag registers.
