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The renowned Joan Cornellà returns to London for a new solo exhibition, I'm Good Thanks

If you can't get enough of the instantly recognisable black humour and deeply unsettling imagery of the renowned Joan Cornellà, then roll your sleeves up for a new exhibition this spring.

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Two people sit on a picnic blanket in a sunny landscape, one playing an acoustic guitar whilst the other smiles beside a wicker basket

I'm Good Thanks at the Public Gallery in London invites us to peer into the Catalan artist's dystopic vision of contemporary life. Paintings line the walls, surrounding a central sculpture – the artist's trademark suited character, hanging from a noose and smiling psychopathically whilst posing for a selfie.

Each work holds a mirror up to the depraved nature of society; confronting everything from our unnatural connection to social media and masturbatory selfie culture to political topics such as abortion, addiction and gender issues – no subject is off limits.

Of course, at first glance, Cornellà's work seems lighthearted and playful, his figures share a generic blank smile and sickly sweet colour palette, reminiscent of 1950's advertising or airline safety pamphlets. Cornellà then twists these saccharine settings to dissect modern culture, projecting them to the darkest, most cynical conclusion. While some are affronted by his work, many connect over it, laughing whilst simultaneously feeling bad for even laughing.

"I think we all laugh at misery," says Cornellà. "We must start from the idea that when we laugh, we laugh at someone or something. With empathy or not, there is always some degree of cruelty. In spite of that, I am aware that if one of my cartoons happened in real life I would not laugh at all."

Satire has long been one of humanity's rare beacons of introspection. Through simplistic visual language, Cornellà satirises the sinister and often bleak side of humanity within a myriad of bizarre and surreal scenarios. Despite suffering gunshot wounds, losing limbs and experiencing gruesome accidents with alarming regularity, the characters in Cornellà's world keep on smiling.

In sync with the growing feeling that the world is sinking further into depraved absurdity, Cornellà sheds some light onto ourselves, presenting human nature in his notoriously dark and disquieting manner.

I'm Good Thanks at London's Public Gallery runs from 3 April until 4 May 2019. Or you can join Joan Cornellà's seven million followers on Instagram.

Cartoon character with black hair wearing a blue shirt making a double heart-hand gesture against a pink background, with red hearts floating beside each hand
Illustration of two men in pink suits interviewing a man hanging from a tree branch by a noose while smiling at the camera
Illustration by Joan Cornellà of a woman in pink at a bathroom sink with text reading "You are a fat piece of shit
Man in yellow suit standing next to large pink bear holding an umbrella, with figure in pink jacket playing flute in tree above
Two suited figures with brown hair shake hands whilst one holds a bloody saw against a turquoise background, in Joan Cornellà's characteristic style
Smiling man in cream shirt and black tie holding a clipboard that reads "Remember: your life sucks" with a heart symbol, against a turquoise background
Two blonde figures smile beside a two-tiered birthday cake with lit candles, surrounded by balloons, one wearing a party hat, with text reading "Nobody loves you
Two women with raised arms toss a baby towards a basketball hoop against a bright blue background
Illustration by Joan Cornellà of a woman in pink posing confidently in a bathroom mirror against a turquoise background, with a small figure visible in the mirror reflection
Man in pink shirt holding up hand with a yellow circle marked 'ok' against bright yellow background, in Joan Cornellà's distinctive illustrative style
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