Epiphanies! Secrets of Outsider Art
26 September - 28 November 2013
Conference Centre, St Pancras Hospital, London
Sue Kreitzman, a self-proclaimed 'Outsider Curator', and an outsider artist in her own right, is the co-curator of the very refreshing 'Epiphanies! Secrets of Outsider Art.' The show reveals works covering an impressive range of content, media and style by almost 25 artists, all of whom Kreitzman has personally befriended.
The works on display are movingly personal. There are dark, disturbed ink drawings, like the work of Judith McNicol; a former earth scientist who began intuitively exploring interior worlds after she became ill with M.E., as well as beautifully naive pieces, such as that of Joe Gagliano, who is influenced by vintage kitsch and his strong Catholic faith. Liz Parkinson's faces reflect the artist's feelings at the moment of creation, and Mista Fig's - predominantly unseen - adorned sculptures are born out of the pin and pleasure of his own life. There is a sketchbook by ex-Stuckist Sexton Ming never originally intended for display; a private presentation documenting his mental health and the parallel journey through the creative process.
There is humour as well, in the form of Kate Bradbury's 'Goats', which were brought to life after Bradbury happened upon fifty disembodied 'goats' heads at a local car boot sale. She gifted them bodies in the form of old musical instruments or the bristles of garden brushes in the hope that one day they might master the Holler and alert a distant herdsman to their whereabouts. This type of narrative epitomises the incredible imagination on display here. Untouched by the commercially driven mainstream art world, this is raw art at its best. The works on display are personal narratives, presenting tangible embodiments of angst and unrestrained creativity.
The works on display are movingly personal. There are dark, disturbed ink drawings, like the work of Judith McNicol; a former earth scientist who began intuitively exploring interior worlds after she became ill with M.E., as well as beautifully naive pieces, such as that of Joe Gagliano, who is influenced by vintage kitsch and his strong Catholic faith. Liz Parkinson's faces reflect the artist's feelings at the moment of creation, and Mista Fig's - predominantly unseen - adorned sculptures are born out of the pin and pleasure of his own life. There is a sketchbook by ex-Stuckist Sexton Ming never originally intended for display; a private presentation documenting his mental health and the parallel journey through the creative process.
There is humour as well, in the form of Kate Bradbury's 'Goats', which were brought to life after Bradbury happened upon fifty disembodied 'goats' heads at a local car boot sale. She gifted them bodies in the form of old musical instruments or the bristles of garden brushes in the hope that one day they might master the Holler and alert a distant herdsman to their whereabouts. This type of narrative epitomises the incredible imagination on display here. Untouched by the commercially driven mainstream art world, this is raw art at its best. The works on display are personal narratives, presenting tangible embodiments of angst and unrestrained creativity.