Maira Kalman

Multidisciplinary artist
mairakalman.com Instagram: @mairakalman
Maira Kalman's wise, witty artworks have appeared on numberless New Yorker covers, in dozens of her own books and in many museums around the world.

Why you should listen

You might know Maira Kalman for her distinctly drawn storybooks, her New Yorker covers, her illustrated version of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style — or for her many other authored titles. She blends a childlike delight with an adult's wry take on the world in work containing carefully observed moments and briskly captured insights. With her late husband, the designer Tibor Kalman, she spent several decades designing objects (notably watches and clocks) and publications at the pioneering design studio M&Co.
Playful and irreverent, Kalman has established herself as a cultural force. She has published more than 30 books and exhibited at numerous museums, including the 2017 installation Sara Berman’s Closet at the Metropolitan Museum, created with her son Alex Kalman, founder of MMuseuMM. Restlessly creative, she has created fabrics for Kate Spade and Isaac Mizrahi, sets for Mark Morris and performed in ballets for John Heginbotham.

Maira Kalman’s TED talks

17:30

Maira Kalman

The illustrated woman

Posted Oct 2007
14:25

Maira Kalman

How to find humor in life's absurdity

Posted Dec 2023

More news and ideas from Maira Kalman

Live from TEDWomen

Moving on up: Talks from day 3 of TEDWomen 2023

October 13, 2023

For the final day of TEDWomen 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia, a multidisciplinary group of experts took on the challenges and opportunities of navigating change — from reimagining migration for political power and addressing the real threats of AI to championing inclusivity, celebrating nature’s wildness and pondering life’s myriad complexities through art. The event: Sessions 4 […]

Continue reading