Suellen Rocca at Matthew Marks Gallery

Suellen Rocca, a founding member of the short-lived but hugely influential group of Chicago artists known as ‘Hairy Who,’ adopted imagery from magazine ads, Sears Roebucks catalogues and other American pop culture sources, but her late-career work took on more personal meanings.  Several pieces in Matthew Marks Gallery’s exhibition of the late artist’s work in Chelsea include imagery relating to fish, which came to Rocca in a dream.  Fish seem to nurse like babies, breasts morph into fish and, in this painting, fish adorn the body of a deity-like multi-armed figure, picturing female power in terms of feeding, nurture and life.  (On view through Jan 29th.  Masks, social distancing and proof of vaccination required.)

Suellen Rocca, Departure, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, 2012.

Gladys Nilsson at Matthew Marks Gallery

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).

Gladys Nilsson, Honk, acrylic on panel in artist’s frame, 13 1/8 x 15 ¾ inches, 1964.

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).

Karl Wirsum, Lambs Cloth Muscle Toppsie from the Land of the Silly Forgottens, color pencil on board, c. 1987.

Gladys Nilsson at Garth Greenan Gallery

In the early 90s, an LA Times critic commented on the ‘silly sort of dignity’ possessed by the eccentric characters in Gladys Nilsson’s large watercolors. The phrase perfectly characterizes these figures from the ‘80s, whose exaggerated physical characteristics and twisting bodies are equal parts grotesque and intriguing. (At Garth Greenan Gallery in Chelsea through Feb 18th).

Gladys Nilsson, Not Easily Pared, watercolor on paper, 40 x 60 inches, 1987.
Gladys Nilsson, Not Easily Pared, watercolor on paper, 40 x 60 inches, 1987.

Suellen Rocca at Matthew Marks Gallery

Chicago artist and member of the iconic Hairy Who artist group, Suellen Rocca devises a language of her own in this symbol-laden, nearly 10-foot long canvas from 1965 at Matthew Marks Gallery in Chelsea. Dominated by the perfect beauties of advertising, simplified down to their silhouettes and made sinister with modified features, Rocca’s painting ponders the temptations of consumer culture. (Through Oct 22nd).

Suellen Rocca, detail from ‘Bare Shouldered Beauty and the Pink Creature,’ oil on canvas, two joined panels, 83 ¼ x 119 ½ inches, 1965.
Suellen Rocca, detail from ‘Bare Shouldered Beauty and the Pink Creature,’ oil on canvas, two joined panels, 83 ¼ x 119 ½ inches, 1965.