This srticle first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, June 29, 2011 - Isolation Room's June show features original cartoons by New York-based artist Pablo Helguera, who sends up the world of contemporary art brilliantly.
His "Artoons" are populated with familiar characters that deserve the skewering: pompous dealers, blowhard critics, clueless collectors, "gallerinas" and, of course, artists.
Helguera is a keen observer of this rarefied cultural stratum, and he gets right to the point with spare line drawings and concise, cutting captions. His work has been published in two volumes titled "Artoons," but there's something special about seeing the drawings firsthand.
Isolation Room has made a selection available for visitors to browse through in another exhibit perfectly suited to its intimate arrangement.
The Basics
When: Through July 7, by appointment | Where: Isolation Room, 5723 Dewey Ave. | Information: www.isolationroom-gallerykit.com/
Ivy Cooper, a professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is the Beacon art critic.