Proto-surrealist James Ensor and the fantastical Netherlandish painter Hieronymous Bosch figure as influencers on Chicago Imagist Gladys Nilsson’s odd characters, no surprise, given their pervading oddness and ambiguous identities. This symmetrically arranged meeting of two couples, elderly, possibly blind, and with facial features straight out of a folk tale challenges belief even before spotting the tiny horns tucked into their mouths. Are they communicating in honks? Are they tooting at each other to avoid colliding on the sidewalk? The fun is in the guessing. (A selection of work from 1963 to 1980 is now on view at Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea through April 18th).
Tag: chicago imagist
Karl Wirsum at Derek Eller Gallery
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).
Roger Brown at DC Moore Gallery
The Gulf War, AIDS crisis, Savings and Loan collapse and more inspired Chicago Imagist artist Roger Brown’s paintings from the 80s and early ‘90s, including ‘Landscape with Dollar Sign,’ in which a huge dollar sign materializes from the clouds over two tiny human figures like a doomsday omen. (At DC Moore Gallery through July 31st).
Roger Brown, Landscape with Dollar Sign, oil on canvas, 48 x 72 inches, 1991.