Karl Wirsum
Encyclopedia
Karl Wirsum is an American
artist. A member of the notorious Chicago artistic group The Hairy Who, he helped set the foundation for Chicago's art scene in the 1970s. 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.
Wirsum was one of the earliest members of The Hairy Who
(along with James Falconer
, Art Green
, Gladys Nilsson
, Jim Nutt
, and Suellen Rocca
). This group came to be known by the exhibition title of the same name, which was co-curated by Don Baum at the Hyde Park Art Center in 1966, and for which the group received national attention. Subsequent shows followed in 1967 and in 1968, of which the latter went from the Hyde Park Art Center
to the San Francisco Art Institute. In the winter of 1968-69 there was a Hairy Who drawing show at the School of Visual Arts in NY. In the Spring of 1969 the last Hairy Who show was at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Dupont Center in Washington, DC.
By the early 1970s, several Hairy Who artists came to be known as Chicago Imagists
, (a name for which critic Franz Schulz is credited for having developed) and this "group" expanded to include Ed Paschke, Roger Brown and Barbara Rossi, 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist. A member of the notorious Chicago artistic group The Hairy Who, he helped set the foundation for Chicago's art scene in the 1970s. Wirsum is primarily a painter, though he has worked with prints, sculpture and even digital art.
He received a B.F.A.
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1961.
Wirsum was one of the earliest members of The Hairy Who
Chicago Imagists
The Chicago Imagists is the name of a group of representational artists associated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center in the late 1960s. Their work was known for grotesquerie, surrealism and complete uninvolvement with New York art world trends...
(along with James Falconer
James Falconer
James Falconer was a Scottish solicitor and Liberal Party politician.-Family and education:Falconer was born in Carmyllie, Forfarshire, the son of Donald Falconer. He was educated at Arbroath High School and Edinburgh University where he obtained his MA degree. He married Ada Kennedy. ...
, Art Green
Art Green
Arthur Green is an American professor and painter. Green was a member of the Chicago artistic group, The Hairy Who in the 1960s, a member of the University of Waterloo’s faculty for over 30 years and has been an influential painter for over 40 years.-Early life:Green grew up in Indiana. His father...
, Gladys Nilsson
Gladys Nilsson
Gladys M. Nilsson is an American artist, one of the original Chicago Imagists, a group in the 1960s and 1970s who turned to representational art...
, Jim Nutt
Jim Nutt
James T "Jim" Nutt is an American artist who was a founding member of the Chicago surrealist art movement known as the Chicago Imagists, or the Hairy Who...
, and Suellen Rocca
Suellen Rocca
Suellen Rocca is a Chicago artist, one of the original Chicago Imagists, a group in the 1960s and 1970s who turned to representational art. She exhibited with them at the Hyde Park Art Center from 1966 through 1969....
). This group came to be known by the exhibition title of the same name, which was co-curated by Don Baum at the Hyde Park Art Center in 1966, and for which the group received national attention. Subsequent shows followed in 1967 and in 1968, of which the latter went from the Hyde Park Art Center
Hyde Park Art Center
The Hyde Park Art Center is a visual arts organization and the oldest alternative exhibition space in the city of Chicago. Since 2006, HPAC has been located just north of Hyde Park Boulevard, at 5020 S.Cornell Avenue, in the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.-Beginnings:The Hyde Park Art...
to the San Francisco Art Institute. In the winter of 1968-69 there was a Hairy Who drawing show at the School of Visual Arts in NY. In the Spring of 1969 the last Hairy Who show was at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Dupont Center in Washington, DC.
By the early 1970s, several Hairy Who artists came to be known as Chicago Imagists
Chicago Imagists
The Chicago Imagists is the name of a group of representational artists associated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center in the late 1960s. Their work was known for grotesquerie, surrealism and complete uninvolvement with New York art world trends...
, (a name for which critic Franz Schulz is credited for having developed) and this "group" expanded to include Ed Paschke, Roger Brown and Barbara Rossi, 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.
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"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 Institution, 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
External links
- Jean Albano Gallery who represents Wirsum's paintings.
- Printworks Gallery who represents Wirsum's prints and works on paper.
- Derek Eller Gallery who represents Wirsum's early works on paper.