Chicago Imagist Karl Wirsum’s gender ambiguous, robotic characters are an odd mix of human and alien, bionic and freighted by imperfect human bodies. This character – a standout in Derek Eller Gallery’s showcase of 50 years of Wirsum’s drawing – has proportions calculated to puzzle and amaze, from tiny eyes and little apple core mouth that contrast a complex and angular nose to broad shoulders that set off a pair of small feet. (On view on the Lower East Side through Nov 10th).
Karl Wirsum, Lambs Cloth Muscle Toppsie from the Land of the Silly Forgottens, color pencil on board, c. 1987.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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