Karl Wirsum
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Karl Wirsum (born 1939 in Chicago, Illinois) is an influential American artist. As a member of the notorious Chicago artistic group, The Hairy Who he helped set the foundation for Chicago's art scene in the 1970's. Wirsum is primarily a painter though he has worked with prints, sculpture and even digital art.
He received a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1961. [[Image:KarlWirsum.jpg --> -->|thumb|right|"Single Signal" 10 color lithograph 20 1/2" X 15 Printed at Anchor Graphics]] Wirsum was one of the earliest members of The Hairy Who (along with James Falconer, Art Green, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, Suellen Rocca). This group received it's name from the exhibition title of a show curated by Don Baum at the Hyde Park Art Center in 1966 for which the group received national attention. A subsequent shows in 1968 Now! Hairy Makes you Smell Good went from the Hyde Park Art Center to the Whitney Museum in NY.
Later the group evolved into the Chicago Imagists, (a title for which critic Franz Schulz is credited) and grew to include Ed Paschke, Roger Brown and Jim Nutt among others.
Numerous members of the Wirsum family are involved with making art. His wife Lorri Gunn is an accomplished artist, daughter Ruby Wirsum works in photography and ceramics, while son Zack Wirsum is a painter and was featured in New American Paintings #59.
Wirsum still lives in Chicago and works as a Full Adjunct Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
[edit] Legacy
The work of Wirsum and the artists of his generation has gone on to influence the course of art in America. American painter Eric Fischl has credited his exposure to the non-mainstream art of the Hairy Who as "revelatory experiences"
[edit] Selected Collections
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- The Illinois Collection for the State of Illinois Center, Chicago, IL
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
- Museum des 20, Jahrhunderts, Vienna
- National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington D.C.
- Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL
- David and Alfred Smart Gallery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
[edit] External links
- Jean Albano Gallery who represents Wirsum's paintings.
- Printworks Gallery who represents Wirsums prints and works on paper.
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