This summer, Rhona Hoffman Gallery and Russell Bowman Art Advisory are pleased to present Chicago Imagists from the Phyllis Kind Collection. Including works by Jim Nutt, Karl Wirsum, Gladys Nilsson, Ed Paschke, Roger Brown, Barbara Rossi, and Ray Yoshida, the exhibition highlights many of the artists Phyllis Kind (1933–2018) brought to widespread attention through her influential galleries in Chicago and New York. Most of the paintings, prints, and sculptural objects in the exhibition date from the late 1960s through the early 1980s, when both Kind and the artists were building their international reputations; many works were personal to Kind or, in some cases, inscribed to her.

Drawing on a wide range of sources—from Surrealism and comics to non-Western and self-taught artists—the Chicago Imagists embraced distorted figuration, densely layered compositions, electric colors, and playful language. Driven by the cultural upheavals of the 1960s, the Imagists defied artistic expectations and espoused new forms of self-expression that continue to influence artists today.

Recent exhibitions at the Tang Museum, Skidmore College; the Prada Foundation, Milan; Goldsmith’s College, London; and the Art Institute of Chicago have extended awareness of the Chicago Imagists. This exhibition offers a unique look at the artists’ relationships with their primary dealer and advocate.

Image: Karl Wirsum, Candle Opera Phantom of Love, 1976. Acrylic on acetate and cardboard, 34.25 x 25.5 inches.