Less Bad is a volume published to accompany Karl Haendel’s eponymous exhibition, which originated at the Kimball Art Center in autumn 2024 and traveled to the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University in spring 2025. The catalogue highlights key thematic elements from Haendel’s 25-year artistic output, focusing on his exploration of masculinity, tenderness, friendship, introspection, and vulnerability through drawing. The book includes a complete set of installation images from the exhibition, plates highlighting essential works, and selected details of drawings. These stand at the heart of a special section of the book, which underlines through images Haendel’s approach, process, materials, and distinctive installation strategy. The volume is enriched by an introduction by Aldy Milliken; a scholarly essay on Haendel’s work by Dr. Andrea Gyorody, contextualizing it within the recent trajectory of contemporary art; an illustrated essay by Hazel Haendel, the artist’s daughter; a conversation between the artist and Analia Saban; and brief creative contributions by artists Darren Bader, Karla Diaz, Michelle Jane Lee, and Ray Anthony Barrett.