Karl Wirsum

Karl Wirsum’s artistic practice is inspired by live, improvised music of blues he witnessed as a child at Maxwell Street Market, an open-air flea market in Chicago. Just like improvised sound and rhythm, his drawings and paintings are intuitive and bold in colour, rarely retouched or corrected, depicting figures, musicians and other sources from the vibrant community of street markets. Through his studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and friendship with Don Baum, chairman of Hyde Park Art Center, Wirsum joined the Hairy Who, a group of artists who collectively organised six exhibitions between 1966 and 1969. Having had unintentionally come up with the collective’s name, Wirsum’s outrageous in colour and style works were a source of inspiration to the rest of the Hairy Who. Portraying often symmetrical figures blended with strongly outlined, bright patterns, Wirsum created unique works that, alongside his friends at the Hairy Who, transformed the artistic landscape of Chicago.