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.