Retrospective of Hairy Who's Six Exhibitions at Art Institute of Chicago Explores Group's Identity

The Art Institute of Chicago presents Hairy Who? 1966–1969, a retrospective restaging all six exhibitions by the Chicago-based art collective. Active from 1966 to 1969, the group included Jim Falconer, Gladys Nilsson, Jim Nutt, Suellen Rocca, and Karl Wirsum, who developed a libidinous, idiosyncratic style influenced by commercial culture and city streets. Their first three shows occurred at the Hyde Park Art Center under curator Don Baum, showcasing works like Rocca's Bare Shouldered Beauty (1965) and Nutt's Wiggly Woman (1966). Later exhibitions included a San Francisco display hampered by distance and a New York show where a janitor discarded a crate. The final exhibition at the Corcoran Art Gallery in Washington, DC, featured painted metal lawn chairs, such as Nutt and Wirsum's I'm Wet (1969). The group produced comic books as ephemera due to budget constraints, signed by all members. While associated with the broader Chicago Imagists circle—including Roger Brown, Ed Paschke, Christina Ramberg, and Barbara Rossi—the retrospective questions what defines the Hairy Who's distinct identity. The exhibition runs through 6 January, originally reviewed in ArtReview's December 2018 issue.