
Untitled
1990 · Colored crayon with graphite and collaged crayon and graphite elements on white wove paper
Sight: 58.7 × 44.4 cm (23 1/8 × 17 1/2 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago

Karl Wirsum was an American painter and printmaker known for his exuberant, cartoonish figuration and bold graphic surfaces. Working primarily in acrylic and ink from the 1960s onward, his compositions featured distorted human faces and bodies rendered in acid colors and thick outlines, rooted in Chicago's postwar artistic traditions. His work merged commercial graphic design sensibilities with fine art ambition, creating a visual language that anticipated aspects of later Pop and Figurative movements.
Source: Corbett Dempsey · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago