The weather is a running theme in New Yorker covers, but recent events—in Texas, especially—have brought it front and center. We talked to the artist Benoît van Innis, who’s based in Belgium, about his own experience with a fickle climate and about how his art has evolved.
The snowstorm in Texas has started a fresh conversation about extreme weather. Do you see similar fluctuations in Belgium?
Of course—the weather is changing a lot in Europe. Here in Belgium, we have seen many summers with extremely hot temperatures and winters without snow. There has also been a drought, which has been a disaster for agriculture. Three weeks ago, we got a lot of snow—it was beautiful, with blue sky and sun. That’s the weather we used to have decades ago, but for a lot of kids it was the first time they saw snow.
Do Europeans generally make a connection between strange weather and climate change?
Oh, yes. In southern Finland, the flora and fauna have suffered from winters without snow. And in the south of Europe, in Spain and Portugal, there’s been awful weather, with a lot of rain and occasional snow. They’re experiencing a lot of floods. The weather is disrupted everywhere.
You evoke all of New York City here, just by showing the top of the Chrysler Building’s cocoon and spire. Does the building have special significance for you?
I think the Chrysler Building is the most beautiful building in New York City. It’s amazing to see, no matter which angle you see it from. When I’m in New York, the Chrysler is my reference, my direction, my guide.
You’ve been contributing to The New Yorker since 1990—so, for more than thirty years. Has your artistic approach evolved over time?
I was very proud when I started to have work in The New Yorker. My idols were Chas Addams, Jean-Jacques Sempé, William Steig, James Thurber. It was a big deal to be a young Belgian artist published there. The magazine has changed a lot, but I’m still proud to be part of it.
You’ve worked in a wide variety of media, including pencil, paintings, wallpapers, flags, and ceramic tiles. Do you have a favorite? And is there one you’re eager to try?
I like to work with different media, but I don’t have favorite materials. Watercolor, aquarelle, Caran d’Ache pencils, oil painting, ceramic tiles, etc.—those are all fantastic. Right now, I’m doing a project in Zurich with sgraffito, a new technique for me. You scratch through a surface of plaster or glazing to expose a different color underneath. It’s amazing. I work a lot with architects on their projects. I just love architecture; people get to inhabit it. It might be one of my favorites.
See below for more covers about snow:
