Untitled

Karl WirsumWW-1969-037833

1969·Graphite on ivory wove paper·43.3 × 35.6 cm (17 1/16 × 14 1/16 in.)

<p>A talented draftsman, Wirsum has said that he never draws directly from the figure, though he does draw from life. The artist’s powerful visual memory allows him to construct bizarre images such as this female-like form whose disproportionate body is rendered both comedic and threatening. Foreshortened so that we view her from below, Wirsum’s figure appears to come from a nightmarish circus of the mind.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1969
Medium: Graphite on ivory wove paper
Dimensions: 43.3 × 35.6 cm (17 1/16 × 14 1/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Karl Wirsum

Artist

Karl Wirsum

Drawing

Karl Wirsum was an American painter and printmaker known for his exuberant, cartoonish figuration and bold graphic surfaces. Working primarily in acrylic and ink from the 1960s onward, his compositions featured distorted human faces and bodies rendered in acid colors and thick outlines, rooted in Chicago's postwar artistic traditions. His work merged commercial graphic design sensibilities with fine art ambition, creating a visual language that anticipated aspects of later Pop and Figurative movements.

Chicago, IL, USA

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