This Friday night, I'm going to check out the opening of a huge show of artwork by Chicago's Karl Wirsum at the Herron gallery at IUPUI. Wirsum was a member of the Hairy Who group, named to sound like a rock band, which held shows at the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago in the mid-sixties. The Hairy Who were part of a larger group of artists known as the Chicago Imagists. Influenced by Surrealism and the Art of the Grotesque, they successfully avoided following trendy New York movements. The Herron Gallery show promises over 100 Winsum works on display, plus a catalog and paddle for sale. From what I've seen of his work, it reminds me of 1960s comix art, pop surrealism and psychedelic animation cels. On Friday January 18 at 6 pm, Wirsum will present the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation Visiting Artist Lecture www.herron.iupui.edu www.jeanalbano-artgallery.com/wirsum/