Displaying items by tag: outsider art

What is known with certainty about an artist’s life story can undoubtedly shed the light of understanding on his or her achievements and legacy. But what happens when authoritative historical documents, personal letters, photos, diaries and other materials have not been consulted or are scarce or even non-existent? Sometimes, in such a case, myths surrounding an artist can develop and take on lives of their own.

Jean Dubuffet believed that art by self-taught and so-called outsider artists possessed an authenticity and creative imagination that was missing from professional art and from modern life in general. He called the work he favored “Art Brut,” collected it in great quantities and donated his accumulation of 4,000 examples to the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1971.

In the almost 70 years since the term was first coined, “outsider art” — a somewhat dismissive designation for the work of self-taught artists — has been steadily finding its way inside the mainstream art world. These days, it is no longer unusual to see pieces by artists with no formal training displayed in even the most prestigious venues; just the past two years have seen such works included in exhibitions mounted by the Venice Biennale, the Museum of Modern Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum, among others.

For much of the past half-century, though, the significance of self-taught art was largely recognized only by a few enthusiasts.

The Outsider Art Fair announced the dealers that will appear in its third annual edition in Paris, at the Hôtel Du Duc, a chateau once owned by the Duke de Morny (a new location), from October 22 to 25. The fair, which began in New York more than two decades ago, will boast 36 art dealers this time—up from the 25 dealers that participated last year. The Outsider Art Fair said in a news release that its growth “reinforces its reputation for presenting works by the world’s most celebrated self-taught creators along with newly discovered artists from around the globe.”

The National Gallery of Art has acquired works by three contemporary female artists and a Chicago outsider artist using funds from the museum’s Collectors Committee and other donors.

Cecily Brown’s painting “Girl on a Swing,” Martha Rosler’s photomontage “Cleaning the Drapes” and Roni Horn’s cast-glass sculpture “Opposite of White, v. 2” were added to the collection at the museum’s board meeting May 1.

Changes are afoot for the Outsider Art Fair, which today announced not just one, but two new venues, in both New York and Paris.

In Manhattan, the fair will move to the Metropolitan Pavilion, on West 18th Street, which is also home to the PULSE art fair. The Paris edition, entering its third year, will move to Hôtel du Duc, hosting 36 exhibitors in a 1,000-square-meter space (approximately 3,280 feet).

The fair's Gotham edition found itself homeless after the former Dia Art Foundation building, where it ran for several years, was purchased by a new landlord, who terminated the leases of the events venue as well as Zach Feuer gallery.

Bill Traylor (1853-1949), one of the most celebrated self-taught artists, spent most of his life as a sharecropper on the Alabama plantation where he was born. Traylor’s talent as an artist emerged suddenly after he left the plantation for Montgomery, where he took up residence at the Ross Clayton Funeral Parlor. After sleeping on a pallet among the caskets, Traylor would spend his days drawing, attracting spectators and children from the neighborhood. According to the book Bill Traylor, Unfiltered, published by Just Folk, “It is a mystery as to what could have motivated an 83-year-old man, born into slavery, who could not read or write, and had no training or exposure to art, to pick up a pencil and a straight-edged stick and start drawing figures on discarded cardboard in the spring of 1939. What is even more amazing is that, from that point, he almost never stopped drawing for the next three years, creating an incredible output of work, which is estimated at 1,200–1,600 pieces.”   

Visit InCollect.com to learn more about the Met's Bill Traylor exhibit.

In this age of texts and e-mails, why not depart from the norm and send a handwritten missive franked with a fantastic work of art?

On March 26, the U.S. Postal Service releases five stamps celebrating the acclaimed Mexican-American outsider artist Martín Ramírez (1895–1963).

Confined to mental institutions for decades, Ramírez, a former railroad worker diagnosed with schizophrenia, created finely crafted drawings, collages, and multimedia paintings distinguished by biographical symbols—train tracks and the like—as well as religious iconography, architectural structures, and a delicate sense of color.

Self-taught, Overtown artist Purvis Young used little more than found objects and paint to craft his works, renowned for their rare ability to capture both hope and despair in the midst of urban strife and upheaval.

Finding patrons and fans in the likes of Bernard Davis (owner of the now-defunct Miami Museum of Modern Art), Lenny Kravitz, and Dan Aykroyd, among others, Young made an indelible mark on the city's artistic evolution.

Now, in honor of Black History Month, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in North Miami is launching a new exhibition: "Under the Bridge, Beyond the Beach and Above the Muck: The Art of Purvis Young."

From January 29 to February 1, 2015, the Outsider Art Fair will host its New York edition (the last at Center 548 before the building is sold), featuring over 40 galleries spanning seven countries — from Haiti’s Galerie Bourbon-Lally to Japan’s Yukiko Koide Presents. In addition, a special exhibition titled “If I Had Possession over Judgment Day,” curated by Jay Gorney and Anne Doran, will showcase the work of Melvin Way, Emery Blagdon, Adolf Wölfli, Mark Lombardi, and the Philadelphia Wireman, uniting these artists from disparate eras and methods under themes of paranoia and controlling chaos. Check out the list — and a few preview images from the special exhibition.