Stop Being Poor

Over the last decade, Joan Cornellà skyrocketed to internet fame with absurd, disturbing cartoons that capture the anxious, disconnected nature of contemporary life. The Spanish-born artist originally worked as an illustrator for a number of Spanish publications and contributed to the New York Times, reserving his darkest work (expletives, spouting blood) for his Instagram and Twitter feeds. Though much of Cornellà’s cachet derives from fans’ social media shares, the artist has also exhibited at shows in New York and Hong Kong, and his work has fetched up to $45,000 on the secondary market. Cornellà views the contrast between his cheery comic-book color palette and the deadpan violence that befalls his characters as instructive. He believes that we all laugh at misery, and it can be enlightening to examine the source of that humor.