Whitehot Magazine
"The Best Art In The World"
Felipe Jesus Consalvos, Where Do We Go From Here, ca. 1920–1960s. Courtesy Fleisher/Ollman Gallery
By PAUL LASTER, May 2020
Offering 93 artworks by 19 self-taught artists presented by 18 international art galleries, "Phase 1" of the three-part virtual exhibition Art Brut Global highlights a sensational selection of canonical Outsider artists. Organized by the Outsider Art Fair, this new online platform provides a venue for collectors to acquire works, while many of the participating galleries remain closed due to the global pandemic, and a place where fans of work by self-taught artists can discover new pieces and get background information about their gifted makers.
Our faves from "Phase 1", which runs through May 29, include Cuban-American artist Felipe Jesus Consalvos’ colorful collage composed from found photos, magazine clippings and cigar labels from the factory where he worked as a cigar roller from Fleisher/Ollman Gallery; Japanese artist Shinichi Sawada’s surreal clay sculpture of a totemic two-headed beast at Jennifer Lauren Gallery; and American artist (and former slave who produced and sold his work on the sidewalks of Montgomery, Alabama in the 1930s and ‘40s) Bill Traylor’s dynamic drawing on cardboard of a woman pointing at a man at Carl Hammer Gallery.
Scroll through the images below to view our complete curated selection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and collages by some of the most celebrated Outsider artists. WM
Johann Hauser, Schlange / Snake, 1978. Courtesy Galerie Konzett
Anna Zemánková, Untitled, ca. 1970's. Courtesy Yukiko Koide Presents
James Castle, Untitled (Goose with Red Tail), n.d. Courtesy Fleisher/Ollman Gallery
Adolf Wölfli, Adolfina, 1917. Courtesy Galerie Pol Lemétais
Shinichi Sawada, Untitled, n.d., Courtesy Jennifer Lauren Gallery
Aloïse Corbaz, Untitled (Sphinx sur colonne et personnages masculins), ca.1960. Courtesy The Gallery of Everything
Nek Chand, Untitled, 1950-1980. Courtesy Courtesy Cavin-Morris Gallery
Carlo Zinelli, Untitled, 1966. Courtesy The Gallery of Everything
Friedrich Schröder-Sonnenstern, Der Himmelsfrosch, 1960. Courtesy Galerie Pol Lemétais
Bill Traylor, Untitled (Woman pointing at Man), ca. 1938-43. Courtesy Carl Hammer Gallery
Eugène Gabritschevsky, Untitled, ca. 1932-1933. Courtesy Galerie Chave
Madge Gill, Untitled, 1954. Courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery
Ilija Bosilij Bašičević, The Apocalypse: The Argonauts, 1962. Courtesy Cavin-Morris Gallery
Martín Ramírez, Untitled (Horse and Rider), ca. 1960-63. Courtesy Ricco/Maresca Gallery
Art Brut Global continues with "Phase II," scheduled for mid-June highlighting more recent discoveries, and "Phase III," which is planned for late summer/early fall and will feature accomplished living artists.
Paul Laster is a writer, editor, curator, artist and lecturer. He’s a contributing editor at ArtAsiaPacific and Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art and writer for Time Out New York, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Galerie Magazine, Sculpture, Art & Object, Cultured, Architectural Digest, Garage, Surface, Ocula, Observer, ArtPulse, Conceptual Fine Arts and Glasstire. He was the founding editor of Artkrush, started The Daily Beast’s art section, and was art editor of Russell Simmons’ OneWorld Magazine, as well as a curator at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, now MoMA PS1.
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