15 Works We Want from Murakami’s Super-Rough

   Installation view of “Super-Rough," Organized by the Outsider Art Fair with guest curator Takashi Murakami. Photo Credit: Olya Vysotskaya. Courtesy of the Outsider Art Fair

By PAUL LASTER, June 2021 

Featuring some 200 sculptural works by 60 self-taught, visionary and vernacular folk artists, the exhibition Super-Rough turns an abandoned SoHo storefront into a treasure chest of awe-inspiring art. With guest curator Takashi Murakami at the helm and art dealers associated with the Outsider Art Fair providing the sculptural booty, this show, which runs through June 27, is a delight for both the mind and the eye.

Howard Finster pays homage to the role that photography played in promoting his art by painting angels and spirited faces on a vintage Kodak camera; Hawkins Bolden turns found scrap metal, rags and a piece of wood into a makeshift scarecrow; Eugene Von Bruenchenhein makes a miniature throne of regal proportions with chicken bones, glue and paint; Georges Liautaud fashions a woman giving birth to a child from a piece of rusty steel; and an anonymous artist humorously transforms a funky chunk of driftwood into a rather curious canine. 

Scroll through the images below to see some of our favorite works in the show. WM

 Howard Finster, Untitled, n.d. Paint on camera, 6.25 x 6.25 x 5 in. (2.5 x 2.5 cm). Courtesy The Gallery of Everything 
 

  Chomo (Roger Chomeaux), Cheval Plissé, c. 1980. Concrete, paint and plaster, 14 x 7.25 x 2 in. (5.5 x 2.85 x 0.8 cm). Courtesy The Gallery of Everything 
 

 Hans Schmitt, Little Pig, c.1970s. Wood, 18 x 10 x 7 in. (7 x 4 x 2.74 cm). Courtesy Galerie Lange 
 

 Moses Ogden, Twisted Head, c. 1900. Wood, 9.5 x 4.5 x 6 in. (3.5 x 1.8 x 2.4 cm). Courtesy Steven S. Powers 

 Hawkins Bolden, Untitled, c.1980. Found objects, metal, fabric and enamel, 70 x 20 x 12 in (177.8 x 50.8 x 30.5 cm). Courtesy of The Gallery of Everything

 Kazumi Kamae, Masato and I visit the ISE Grand Shrine, 2021. Fired clay, 12 x 11.2 x 7.5 in (H 30.5×W 28.5×D 19 cm). Courtesy of Yukiko Koide Presents
 

 Sylvain and Ghyslaine Staëlens, Pélerin (Pilgrim), 2017. Wood, metal, cloth and found objects, 33.86 x 12.99 x 9.45 in (86 x 33 x 24 cm). Courtesy of Cavin-Morris Gallery
 

  Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Throne Chair, c. 1960. Chicken bones, paint, airplane glue and varnish, 6 x 4 x 4 in. (2.4 x 1.6 x 2.4 cm). Courtesy The Gallery of Everything 
 

 James Castle, Construction (Duck), mid-20th century. Wax pencil, black crayon, pencil, soot on found papers, with fabric tape and thread, 11 x 19.5 in (28 x 49.5 cm). Courtesy of Hirschl & Adler
 

 John Byam , Untitled, n.d. Paint on wood, 8 x 6 x 3 in (3.14 x 2.36 x 1.2 xm). Courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery 
 

  Judith Scott , Untitled, 1992. Wool and cotton string, mixed media and wood, 13 x 25 x 13 in.(5 x 9.8 x 5 cm). Courtesy Andrew Edlin Gallery 
 

 Shinichi Sawada, Untitled (3), n.d. Wood fired clay, 20 x 7 x 6.25 in. (7.9 x 2.75 x 2.5 cm). Courtesy Venus Over Manhattan & Jennifer Lauren Gallery
 

  Ionel Talpazan (1955-2015), Untitled, 1996. Plaster and paint. 14 x 14 in. (10.16 x 10.16 cm). Courtesy of the Outsider Art Fair
 

  Georges Liautaud, Untitled (Birth), c. 1960. Steel, 36 x 30 in. (14.2 x 11.8 cm). Courtesy The Gallery of Everything 
 

 Unknown Artist, Root Carved Dog, Late 20th Century. Wood and marble, 17 x 24 x 27 in. (6.7 x 9.5 x 10.6 cm). Courtesy NEXUS SINGULARITY (Aarne Anton)