25 Outstanding Works from the Outsider Art Fair in New York

 Reza Shafahi, Untitled, 2020. Courtesy James Barron Art LLC
 

By PAUL LASTER, February 2021 

Featuring seven curated exhibitions across five Manhattan locations and forty-five online exhibitors from twenty-nine cities, the 29th edition of the Outsider Art Fair in New York, which runs through February 7^th, has something for everyone.

Run, don’t walk, to catch a solo presentation of trippy drawings by the renowned musician Daniel Johnston, who died at age 58 in 2019, at Electric Lady Studios, the venerable Greenwich Village recording studio kickstarted by Jimi Hendrix and made famous by Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and scores of other great musicians from the 1970s onwards. Entitled, Daniel Johnston: Psychedelic Drawings, the presentation, which is open by appointment, is curated by celebrated artist and cartoonist Gary Panter.

Once Downtown, be sure to see Semiotic Terrain: Art from Australia and New Zealand at Salon 94 Freemans; Figure Out: Abstraction in Self-Taught Art at Andrew Edlin Gallery; and three shows at Shin Gallery, including Small World, a group exhibition of small-scale works by a selection of self-taught artists; The Realm of Minnie Evans, a solo exhibition of works from The Daniel Collection; and Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning, featuring African-American artists from the Deep South, curated by SHRINE’s Scott Ogden

Then head Midtown for To Be Human: The Figure in Self-Taught Art, on view at Hirschl & Adler, before digging deep into the rest of the fair on your computer, tablet or mobile phone. Powered by Artlogic, the fair’s viewing rooms are chock full of colorful works by a variety of self-taught artists, like these 25 favorites, which we want to add to our dreams-that-money-can-buy collection. WM
 

 Issei Nishimura, Magic Mashroom No.1, 2020. Galerie Miyawaki
 

James Castle, Untitled (Figure construction), n.d. Courtesy Fleisher/Ollman
 

Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, Nov 16, 1977, 1977. Courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery
 

Satoshi Morita, Dot and Line, 2014. Courtesy Yukiko Koide Presents
 

Della Wells, I Say It Is My Freedom Day, 2020. Courtesy Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art
 

 Andrew "Grandpa" Pfriender, Woman in a Blue Skirt, c. 1970-80s. Courtesy Doug Beube Fine Arts
 

 Minnie Evans, Untitled (horse head), circa 1960. Courtesy Phyllis Stigliano Art Projects
 

Anonymous Foot Fetish Artist, Berlin Lots of Legs, 1960s. Courtesy Henry Boxer Gallery
 

 Carlos Quintana, Del fin, 2005 Courtesy Art Code Space
 

L.C. Spooner, Surf Glider, 1934. Courtesy Hill Gallery
 

Purvis Young, Untitled, circa 1972. Courtesy Hirschl & Adler Modern
 

Daniel Johnston, Sgt. Pepper, 1978. Courtesy Electric Lady Studios and the Daniel Johnston Trust
 

 Ionel Talpazan, U.F.O. s Traveler in Space in the Future, n.d. Courtesy Aarne Anton / American Primitive
 

Anne-Marie Grgich, The garden of my mind, 2020-21. Courtesy Galerie Polysemie
 

 Kazumi Kamae, Fish, 2008 Courtesy Yukiko Koide Presents
 

 Domingo Guccione, Untitled , ca. 1930-55. Courtesy Ricco/Maresca Gallery

 Gaston Chaissac, Untitled, 1963/64. Courtesy The Gallery of Everything
 

Angkasapura, Untitled, c. 2016. Courtesy Henry Boxer Gallery
 

  Anna Zemánková, Untitled, Early 1960s. Courtesy Cavin-Morris Gallery
 

 Daniel E. Rohrig, Two Women/Traditional and Modern, n.d. Courtesy Marion Harris - The Art of Collecting
 

Mina Mond, le cycle, 2019. Courtesy Galerie Pol Lemétais
 

Congo, 41st Painting Session, August 19, 1958. Courtesy Shin Gallery
 

Ruby Bradford, The Royal Prince Cat, 2020. Courtesy Project Onward
 

Françoise Oklaga, Untitled, 1978. Courtesy Marion Scott Gallery