Ridykeulouse Hits Bottom opens tonight at Leo Koenig Projekte and includes this drawing by Aaron Johnson. I checked out the show yesterday while the Ridykeulouse ladies were installing. It is a really wonderfully vulgar show, and one would expect nothing less – lots of exceptional work, including Aaron’s gruesome drawing. The show includes work by the following artists:

A.K. Burns, Aaron Johnson, Anna Sew Hoy, Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Cody Critcheloe/ssion, Cyrus Saint Amand Poliakoff*, Dana Schutz, Dawn Frasch, Dawn Kasper, Dawn Mellor, Dean Daderko as Referee, Eve Fowler & Math Bass, Explosion Robinson, Fastwurms, Leidy Churchman, Two Serious Ladies, Ulrike Muller, Zackary Drucker + A.L. Steiner

I wanted to post Aaron’s drawing, not only because I love it, but also because it is of my wife Alex and I. When Alex and I got married back in 2007 Aaron gave us a lovely drawing of Alex and I, or at least monstrously ghoulish versions of us. In our drawing I am putting a ring on Alex’s finger in honor of our nuptials. We love the drawing and currently have it in our kitchen. At the time he told me that this was not the original wedding gift drawing, but the first one was not appropriate for the occasion and so he had made a second drawing which he presented to us.

I had forgotten about this, until Aaron told me that Nicole Eisenmann had asked him to participate in the Ridykeulouse show and had selected the original wedding drawing for the show – needless to say I was eager to see the first drawing. It is great as well. I guess I do understand why he thought better than to give us a picture of Alex decapitating me on our wedding day,  as perhaps it is not the most conventional marriage portrait – but brilliant none the less. Bravo Mr. Johnson, you are the master of monsters!