I Am A Rock I Am A Roll

This exhibition explores the intersections of punk, DIY, and self-taught art through the work of two American and two German artists: Naomi Shintani Deibel, Jonas Müller-Ahlheim, Betsy Odom, and Wesley Willis. Part of Alle gegen Alles. Punk@50, a transatlantic, multi-city initiative marking the 50-year anniversary of punk taking place at Goethe-Instituts across North America in fall 2026, ‘I Am A Rock I Am A Roll’ is a collaboration between KIOSK and the Goethe-Institut Chicago and will feature film screenings, a zine workshop, a conversation on Chicago's punk history, and other programs at both locations.

ARTIST BIOS

Naomi Shintani Deibel (b. 1994 in Karlsruhe, Germany) is a German artist who lives and works in Vienna. She completed her diploma at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and also studied at the Braunschweig University of Art, Joshibi University of Art and Design, and Chelsea College of Arts. Her artistic practice explores feminist perspectives on painting, which she expands through self-written texts, textile sculptures, and collaborative performances. Her work examines the relationships between images, materials, personal memories, and social conditioning. She understands painting as an open process in which meanings, materials, and perspectives are constantly shifting.

Jonas Müller-Ahlheim (b. 1993 in Wiesbaden, Germany) is a German artist, curator, and educator whose practice spans multiple sites, including the artist's studio, public space, institutions, and scientific laboratories. He co-founded the curatorial collectives sspatz and by bye. His artistic work takes shape through painting, video, and installation. He studied media art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, and graduated in 2021 from the Art Academy Karlsruhe as a Meisterschüler under Professor Leni Hoffmann. From 2021 to 2023, he was awarded a DAAD Fellowship to further his research in the Painting Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where he earned his MFA. In 2023, he received a teaching fellowship at SAIC, where he is currently a lecturer.

Betsy Odom (b. 1980 in Amory, Mississippi) is an artist, curator, and educator based in Chicago. They hold an MFA from the Yale University School of Art and a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Odom has exhibited widely in the U.S. and abroad, with solo and group exhibitions at venues including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the McNay Museum, San Antonio; the Cleve Carney Museum of Art, Glen Ellyn; Journal Gallery, Brooklyn; Amel Bourorina Gallery, Berlin; and Chicago’s Corbett vs. Dempsey, Western Exhibitions, and LVL3 Gallery. In 2026, Odom’s work was featured at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in 'Get In the Game,' a large-scale touring exhibition curated by SFMOMA exploring the intersections of art and sport. Their work is currently on view in 'Sport and Spectator' at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City and a two-person exhibition with Margaret Wharton at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, Indiana.

Wesley Willis (b. 1963 in Chicago, IL; d. 2003 in Skokie, IL) was a Chicago artist and musician whose singular practice drew from the city’s streets, buses, music venues, and everyday encounters. Beginning as a street musician accompanying himself on a Technics keyboard, Willis developed a distinctive style of blunt, three-chord songs that transformed ordinary observations, popular culture, and personal experiences into music that was simultaneously hilarious, unsettling, and deeply original. Willis lived with schizophrenia, and for him writing, performing, and recording helped quiet the voices in his head. Alongside his prolific recording career—he wrote more than 1,000 songs and released more than 50 albums—Willis created detailed ballpoint and felt-tip drawings of Chicago and its landmarks. His work earned a devoted following and connected him with figures across the underground music scene, including Steve Albini, the Beastie Boys’ Mike D., and Jello Biafra, and his performances and recordings established him as a beloved Chicago cult figure. Willis passed away in 2003 at the age of 40, leaving behind an extraordinary body of music and drawings that continues to capture his unmistakable, idiosyncratic vision of the world.