1960, Cleveland (USA) For a long time art has been made to be understood by everyone. You can easily get scared by looking at the demons that adorn medieval churches and find out how the image should be understood by anyone. To do this, it was necessary to simplify.Michelangelo Lovelace is like this: he shouts the […]
David Thomas Roberts
After the first article of Contaminations, dedicated to Tommaso Buldini, the journey among the influences of the outsider art world continues in America with the art of David Thomas Roberts. David Thomas Roberts is a self-taught painter, poet, composer and important pianist born in 1955 in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He showed me his work and answered […]
Nanjing Outsider Art Studio
The Nanjing Outsider Art Studio, founded by Guo Haiping in 2006, is the first experience of an Art Therapy laboratory in China. I asked some questions to find out more about this reality. How did the idea of creating this laboratory come from? Guo Haiping’s outsider art practice began in 2006 when he opened an […]
A short logbook for a weekend of drawings and fresh croissants
A SHORT LOGBOOK FOR A WEEKEND OF DRAWINGS AND FRESH CROISSANTS For a really fast decision, I found myself in Paris with Rizomi Gallery to set up and follow our booth during the first days of Ddessin Paris Contemporary Drawing Fair.In this event Rizomi did not focus on “outsiders”, and it brought Andrea Saltini, protagonist […]
TOMMASO BULDINI
Vascello di ieri, Acrylic on paper, 35×45 Il mondo di Tommaso Buldini (Bologna, 1979) è fatto di viscere, diavoli, corpi (integri o a pezzi), meduse e scheletri, con tanti rimandi alle raffigurazioni medievali, a Gummo, Méliès, Bosch e all’Art Brut. È con un articolo su di lui che ho deciso di inaugurare la nuova sezione […]
Art Brut Film Olomouc 2018
ART BRUT FILM OLOMOUC 2018 On March 22, 2018, at the Muzeum umění Olomouc (Czech Republic) will take place the seventh edition of the film festival Art Brut Film Olomouc.I asked Pavel Konečný, organizer of the Festival, some questions to find out more about this event and the program of this year. G) Art Brut Film Olomouc […]
ALOÏSE CORBAZ
ALOÏSE CORBAZ (1886-1964, SWITZERLAND) Aloïse Corbaz was a cultured and educated woman who worked ad a private tutor at the German court of Kaiser Wilhelm II, where she taught his pastor’s daughter.Before that, she had wanted to become a singer. On developing an over-powering infatuation with the Kaiser, her mental state became increasingly agitated and […]
MARTÍN RAMÍREZ
MARTÍN RAMÍREZ (1895-1960, MEXICO/CALIFORNIA) Martín Ramírez was born in 1895 in Jalisco, Mexico. Widely considered one of the 20th century’s self-taught masters of drawing, he produced some 500 drawings and collages during the 15 years he spent as a psychiatric inmate at DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California.Thrust by political and religious upheavals caused by […]
Outliers in Washington
OUTLIERS IN WASHINGTON Outliers and American Vanguard Art is the first major exhibition to explore the key moments in American art history when avant-garde artists and outsiders intersected, and how their interchanges ushered in new paradigms based on inclusion, integration, and assimilation. On view in the East Building of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, […]
Notes (OAF, Paris 2017)
Vai alla versione italiana Outsider Art Fair, Paris – October 19-22, 2017 The Outsider Art Fair (Paris edition) has really satisfied all tastes, from the big names of art brut to new discoveries and new participations. For example, the Outsider Art Museum in Amsterdam contributed to “refresh” this edition bringing a number of very interesting […]
Supermen
Vai alla versione italiana Today is June 1st. Exactly 50 years ago, in 1967, a LP came out of the history: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, one of the biggest pearls of Beatles. The revolution of this album is not only in music, but also in the cover. The Fab Four were immortalized at […]
Ovartaci Fields
Vai alla versione italiana Presented by Museum Ovartaci & Business Park Skejby Location: Business Park Skejby, 8200 Aarhus Starting from: May 10, 2017 Museum Ovartaci is dedicated to the history of the psychiatric treatment and art produced by patients at the Risskov Psychiatric Hospital (Aarhus, Denmark). It is a part of Aarhus University Hospital and resides and […]
MICHAEL PELLEW
MICHAEL PELLEW (USA) I discovered Michael Pellew at the New York’s Outsider Art Fair and I fell in love with his works. I had already noticed some of his drawings online, but it was an emotion to being face to face with Lemmy of Motorhead (rest in peace) or Lady Gaga. Pellew has been working […]
OVARTACI
OVARTACI (1984-1985, DENMARK) Louis Marcussen was born at Ebeltolf, Denmark on 26 September 1894. Louis grew up with a large number of siblings – some of them died in an early age or had various disabilities – in one of the most beautiful houses in Ebeltoft. Already in his youth Louis was absorbed with yoga, Buddhism […]
HENRY DARGER
HENRI DARGER (1892-1973, CHICAGO, USA) “The story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion”, or 15.000 pages discovered by chance by Nathan Lerner, the owners of a Chicago room where a lonely man spent part of his life. […]
Art brut & design?
Vai alla versione italiana Yesterday, for Varese Design Week, Nicola Mazzeo (Rizomi Art Brut) and I were invited as Artètipi to talk about the possible relationships between art brut and design. Two worlds seemingly incongruous. Design, in its various meanings, creates consumer objects, places, spaces, and relationships between people through a creative solution to the problems […]
Outsiders are still in Venice
Vai alla versione italiana Three “outsider” artists at Venice Biennale 2017 Open to the public from Saturday May 13th to Sunday November 26th 2017, at the Giardini and the Arsenale, the 57th International Art Exhibition, titled VIVA ARTE VIVA, will be curated by Christine Marcel and organized by La Biennale di Venezia chaired by Paolo Baratta. The Exhibition will also […]
PHILADELPHIA WIREMAN
United States Philadelphia Wireman è il nome dato ad uno sconosciuto creatore di circa 1.200 piccole sculture tridimensionali scoperte da Robert Leich in una strada di Philadelphia alla fine degli anni ’70. “È stato un caso che queste opere siano sopravvissute,” spiega il collezionista e gallerista John Ollman a The Huffington Post “probabilmente ci saranno […]
25 years
Vai alla versione italiana Outsider Art Fair, New York – January 19-22, 2017 A week ago, between the jet lag and long coffee, I went to the Outsider Art Fair which turns 25 this year, like me. Founded by Sanford L. Smith, to its beginnings it counted 25 exhibitors. Now there were 66 galleries from […]
ADAM GRIPPO
ADAM GRIPPO (USA) Adam Grippo began drawing at the age of 30. His enigmatic works have been described as unique and mysterious. Adam says that his works are always strongly autobiographical. He creates them almost always to get though unpleasant occurrences. His artwork is done until his personal point has been made. When he creates his work […]
ORESTE FERNANDO NANNETTI
NOF4 (Oreste Fernando Nannetti)1927-1994 | Italy Volterra, Padiglione Ferri, NOF4 Photo: © Gloria Marchini La Legge 180 del 13 maggio 1978, nota anche come Legge Basaglia, ha permesso la chiusura degli ospedali psichiatrici italiani: i pazienti furono trasferiti in specifici reparti degli ospedali civili, mentre le costruzioni vennero gradualmente abbandonate o riconvertite.Il manicomio di San Girolamo di […]
MOHAMMAD KAZEMZADEH
MOHAMMAD KAZEMZADEH (1992, IRAN) Mohammad Kazemzadeh is a young iranian artist born on January 31, 1992. He should have been born with a twin, but doctors could only bring him to this world.Early childhood years prior to primary school, made Mohammad’s disabilities apparent and he began speech and behavior therapy under the supervision of specialists. […]
NORIMITSU KOKUBO
NORIMITSU KOKUBO (1995, SHIGA PREFECTURE, JAPAN) Norimitsu Kokubo started drawing in the period of elementary school, to “exorcise” his introversion and lacking in social skills.He would keep drawing quietly in notebooks and any other pieces of paper available, such as the back sides of calendars or advertisement flyers.His amazing meticulous works are cover by details: […]
CHIYUKI SAKAGAMI
CHIYUKI SAKAGAMI (1961, JAPAN) Chiyuki Sakagami was born in 1961 in Japan. Now she lives in Kobe, but she claims that she was born 6 billion years ago in the Precambrian sea, where the fish have sought her to survive in the ocean waters. After exploring different continents she has found herself on a volcanic island, awakened […]
GUY BRUNET
1945 | SWITZERLAND Guy Brunet was 16 when he began filling school notebooks with screenplays. Gradually, he took up drawing as well, at first using colored pencils to create his storyboards. Later he would go on to draw and paint his own movie posters on the back of those he inherited from his father (who had […]
BAUDOUIN FIERENS
BAUDOUIN FIERENS (1975, BELGIUM) He attends the workshop of Luc Mondry and Nicole Babila at La Clarière. His work is characterized by torn, imprisoned figures. The line appears continuous. Black shapes haunt the white of the paper, traces affirming existence as much as revealing vulnerability and emptiness. The signature “BAUDOUIN” is part of the composition. […]
PALAIS IDÉAL DU FACTEUR CHEVAL
PALAIS IDÉAL DU FACTEUR CHEVAL (1879-1912, FRANCE) During one of his rounds, in april 1879, at the age of 43, the postman Ferdinand Cheval, stumbles against such an odd stone that it awakes a dream. Real self-taught, he devotes 33 years of his life to build a dream palace in his garden alone. His inspiration comes […]
Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval
PALAIS IDÉAL DU FACTEUR CHEVAL (1879-1912, FRANCIA) Durante uno dei suoi viaggi giornalieri, nell’aprile del 1879, all’età di 43 anni, il postino Ferdinand Cheval, inciampa contro una pietra di forma strana che subito lo rimanda ad un sogno. Da totale autodidatta, si dedica da quel momento, per 33 anni, alla costruzione di un palazzo ideale […]
KASHINATH CHAWAN
KASHINATH CHAWAN (1950, INDIA) Kashinath Chawan draws in ballpoint pen on torn cardboard or pieces cut out from salvaged shoe boxes, or else on used pieces of paper found on the floor.Chawan does no sketches or preliminary drawings: his first lines are light and imprecise. These he then builds up by repeating them in little […]
Kashinath Chawan
KASHINATH CHAWAN (1950, INDIA) Kashinath Chawan utilizza penne a sfera su cartoni strappati e recuperati da scatole per scarpe; in alternativa utilizza pezzi di carta trovati sul pavimento. Chawan non fa schizzi o disegni preparatori: le sue prime linee sono leggere e imprecise. Successivamente riempie i soggetti ripetendo piccoli tratti in modo graduale atto a formare […]
FAUSTO BADARI
FAUSTO BADARI (1962, ITALY) Fausto Badari was born in Roverbella, Italy. His parents suffered from psychic disorders and lived in great poverty. Fragile since childhood, his condition deteriorated through lack of support, and worsened when his father died in 1992. He was in and out of a home until 2004. But his mental health continued […]
Fausto Badari
FAUSTO BADARI (1962, ITALIA) Fausto Badari è nato a Roverbella. I suoi genitori soffrirono di disturbi psichici e hanno sempre vissuto in grande povertà. Fragile sin dall’infanzia, le condizioni di Fausto non sono migliorate, soprattutto per la mancanza di sostegno della famiglia, e peggiorò quando suo padre morì nel 1992. É tornato più volte a casa fino al 2004, ma la sua […]
ZDENÊK KOŠEK
ZDENÊK KOŠEK (1949, CZECH REPUBLIC) The self-taught artist Zdenek Kosek worked ad a typographer and drew caricatures and satirical cartoons for regional magazines and newspapers, but he also produced some unconventional paintings. In the 1980s a deep psychological divide gradually changed his perception of the world ; he was diagnosed as psychotic and had to retire in […]
Zdnêk Košek
ZDENÊK KOŠEK (1949, REPUBBLICA CECA) L’artista autodidatta Zdenek Kosek ha lavorato come tipografo e caricaturista per alcune riviste, ma ha anche prodotto alcuni dipinti non convenzionali. Nel 1980 un profondo divario psicologico ha gradualmente cambiato la sua percezione del mondo; è stato diagnosticato come psicotico e da quel momento ha iniziato a produrre opere radicalmente diverse dai suoi precedenti […]
JOHN BYAM
JOHN BYAM 1929 – | USA John Byam was born in Oneonta (New York State, USA). As a kid he helped his parents, who owned a camping ground. In 1940s he worked for a railway company, and he served American army in Japan during the Korean War. After War he went back to live with his […]
DAMIAN MICHAELS
DAMIAN MICHAELS (1969, AMERICA-AUSTRALIA) Damian Michaels was born in Virginia in 1969, his earliest years were nomadic owing to the demands of his father’s job. In the mid-1970s the family settled in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the age of eight, Michaels experienced his first epiphany, in the form of a visitation from his […]
Damian Michaels
DAMIAN MICHAELS (1969, AMERICA-AUSTRALIA) Damian Michaels è nato in Virginia nel 1969, e passò i primi anni della sua esistenza spostandosi spesso, a causa del lavoro del padre. A metà degli anni Settanta si stabilì nella Baia di San Francisco. All’età di otto anni, Michaels sperimentò la sua prima visione della cugina morta, Annie. Durante […]
ANTONIO ROSENO DE LIMA
1926-1998 | BRASIL Antonio Roseno de Lima è nato nel 1926 ad Alessandria (Rio Grande do Norte, Brasile). Le modeste condizioni economiche della sua famiglia lo hanno obbligato a lavorare sin da giovane: creava gabbie per uccelli, oggetti in legno e cucchiai. Dopo un matrimonio di otto anni ed una moglie in attesa del loro quinto […]
NICOLAI TARASYUK
1932 | BELARUS Nicolai Tarasyuk was born in 1932 in the community of Pruzhany, near the forest. During the World War II has restricted his childhood education, and brought traumatic events to the area. Nicolai was not affected by this disasters and he lived all his life in his farm. He married in 1953, had […]
LEE GODIE
LEE GODIE (1908-1994, USA) Lee Godie (Jabot Emily Godee) was born in 1908 and she lived most of her life in Chicago. After the failure of her two marriages and the death of two of her four children, she became an homeless on the streets of Chicago.Godie could be seen on the steps of the Art […]
Lee Godie
LEE GODIE (1908-1994, USA) Lee Godie (Jabot Emily Godee) è nata nel 1908 e ha vissuto la maggior parte della sua vita a Chicago. Dopo il fallimento dei suoi due matrimoni e la morte di due dei suoi quattro figli, ha iniziato a vivere per le strade di Chicago. Godie si sedeva spesso sui gradini […]
Ba Zi
BA ZI (CINA) Ba Zi ha sempre amato l’arte, ma ha più volte rifiutato l’idea di seguire delle lezioni di pittura in quanto la conoscenza “acquisita” è sempre stata lontana dalla sua logica. Crescendo si è distaccato dal mondo, fino ad avere disturbi psicologici (disordine sociale). Fortunatamente, l’innata capacità di disegnare gli ha permesso di […]
BA ZI
BA ZI (CHINA) Ba Zi was born with the love of painting but he refused many times the idea of looking for a painting teacher for him, because the taught knowledge is far from his pursuit. He wanted to express his spiritual aspirations with an artistic language. During his growth he has some psychological disorder (social […]
WILLIAM EDMONDSON
WILLIAM EDMONDSON 1870 ca.-1951 | AMERICA William Edmondson was the first Afro-American artist to have one-man show at MoMA in New York. He was born in the ’70s, in Tenessee, the son of freed slaves. He went to work at sixteen years of age as a manual laborer, railroad man, farm hand, fireman, and hospital janitor, and […]
BROTHER DÉODAT
THE LITTLE CHAPEL 1878-1951 | UNITED KINGDOM The Little Chapel of Les Vauxbelets was rebuilt twice before its creator was satisfied with his work. Brother Déodat joined the Guernsey Christian Schools in 1913 and devoted his life to building a miniature replica of the Basilica and Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. The first chapel […]
DANIEL JOHNSTON
DANIEL JOHNSTON (1961, USA) Daniel Johnston was born in Sacramento (California), in 1961. He was the fifth child of a religious family and he grows up in West Virginia, learns to play the piano and he began to draw since a very young age. His favourite subjects were the characters of the comic, especially heroes […]
Daniel Johnston
DANIEL JOHNSTON (1961, USA) Daniel Johnston è nato a Sacramento (California), nel 1961. Quinto figlio di una famiglia fortemente religiosa, cresce nel West Virginia, imparando a suonare il pianoforte e cominciando a disegnare fin da giovane età. I suoi soggetti preferiti sono i personaggi dei fumetti, soprattutto eroi, che trasfigurano l’esperienza bellica di suo padre. […]
BRUNO MONTPIED
BRUNO MONTPIED 1954- | FRANCE Bruno Montpied was born in 1954 in Boulogne-sur-Seine. He now lives in Paris where he makes a living as a monitor of extracurricular school activities. At the age of twenty he was inspired by surrealism and he began painting and drawing three years later after meeting Asger Jorn and the […]
FIORENZO PILIA
1933 | ITALY The farmer Fiorenzo Pilia was born in 1933. He had no formal and artistic education, but at the age of sixty he began making sculptures with residual material, resin, scraps and waste. The garden that Pilia began decorating in 1993 in 4.000 mq, outside the Sardinian village of San Sperate (Sardinia), represents […]
Terry Williams
TERRY WILLIAMS (1952, AUSTRALIA) Un autore prolifico, Terry William realizza ceramiche, sculture, animaioni, acquerelli e disegni. La sua serie di edifici in ceramica e aerei è una rappresentazione del mondo industriale moderno. In contrasto con la forte fisicità delle sue opere tridimensionali, le sue realizzazioni su carta mostrano un lavoro più sciolto, caratterizzato da linee […]
TERRY WILLIAMS
TERRY WILLIAMS (1952, AUSTRALIA) A prolific worker, Terry Williams’s art practice encompasses animation, ceramics, foam sculpture, texta drawing and watercolour. His detailed series of ceramic buildings and aeroplanes is a unique depiction of the modern industrial world. In contrast to the strong physicality of his three-dimensional work, his works on paper show loose black and […]
EIJIRO MIYAMA
EIJIRO MIYAMA (1934, JAPAN) Eijiro Miyama is often referred to as Bōshi Ojisan (“Hat Man”) due to his habit of riding his bicycle around the streets of Yokohama wearing eccentric clothing and large, elaborate hats adorned with dolls and other recycled objects. He was born in Mie Prefecture, Japan. A loner, he never married. He […]
Eijiro Miyama
EIJIRO MIYAMA (1934, GIAPPONE) Eijiro Miyama è spesso definito come Bōshi Ojisan (“Uomo col cappello”) per via della sua abitudine ad andare in bicicletta per le strade di Yokohama indossando abiti eccentrici e grandi cappelli ornati di bambole e oggetti riciclati. È nato nella Prefettura di Mie, in Giappone. Non si è mai sposato e ha […]
MARIA PRIMACHENKO
MARIA PRIMACHENKO (1908-1997, UKRAINE) Maria Primachenko was born in Bolotnya, a village near Chernobyl (Kyiv), in 1908. As a young girl, she contracted polio, and this grave illness affected her childood’s life. At an early age she used to paint the interior of her home and of her neighbours. Primachenko’s works caught the eye of Tetiana […]
Maria Primachenko
MARIA PRIMACHENKO (1908-1997, UCRAINA) Maria Primachenko è nata a Bolotnya, villaggio nella zona di Chernobyl, nel 1908. Da piccola contrasse la poliomelite, che gravò molto durante tutta la giovinezza.Iniziò precocemente a dipingere le pareti della sua casa e quelle dei suoi vicini ed i suoi lavori vennero notati da Tetiana Floru. Nel 1936, Primachenko venne […]
ART-STUDIO PERSPEKTIVY
Sokolov Mikhail © Art-studio Perspektivy The Saint Petersburg charitable organization, Perpektivy, was born in 1999 as a Russian partner of Perspektiven e V. (a German organisation), which started supporting disabled children in Saint Petersburg in 1996. This cooperation enables Perspektivy to help physically and mentally disabled children, disabled adults and to support families bringing up […]
SOLANGE KNOPF
SOLANGE KNOPF (1957, BELGIUM) “Solange Knopf was born in Brussels in 1957. Like many others of her generation she dipped in and out of the world counterculture of the 60’s and 70’s and travelled the globe (India, Afghanistan, Iran, Morocco). Circumstances led to some personal tragedies and drawing became a way of assuaging pain, depression […]
Solange Knopf
SOLANGE KNOPF (1957, BELGIO) “Solange Knopf è nata a Bruxelles nel 1957. Come molti altri suo coetanei, si immerse nella controcultura degli anni ’60-’70 e viaggiò in giro per il mondo (India, Afghanistan, Iran e Marocco). Alcune tragedie personali le hanno fatto scoprire il disegno, un fondamentale modo per placare i suoi dolori, la depressione […]
PIERRE RAPEAU
PIERRE RAPEAU 1935-2007 | FRANCE Pierre Rapeau, a biology teacher, was born in the Perigord area of France. One day, tired of the world, he returned in the local forest, where he had a lively memory of the walks he made with his grandmother, collecting mushrooms and herbs. “In the early 1980s, I was suffering from […]
BESSIE HARVEY
BESSIE HARVEY 1929-1994 | AMERICA Bessie Harvey was a visionary artist who flourished primarily in Alcoa, Tenesse, during 1979-1994. Born in Dallas, Georgia, Harvey was the seventh of thirteen children and she experienced a very difficult childhood. Drawing strength from her mother’s strong Christian faith, she also fond comfort in her own ability to create […]
AALTJE DAMMER
AALTJE DAMMER (1907-?, NETHERLANDS) Dammer’s consulting psychiatrist wrote in a letter to mark the transfer of a folder containing all her preserved drawings: “Aaltje Dammer was an extremely introverted woman, who always gave shape to her emotions in the same rigorous way“. In 1928 – aged just 21 – she was admitted to a psychiatric […]
Aaltje Dammer
AALTJE DAMMER (1907-?, OLANDA) Lo psichiatra di Dammer ha scritto una lettera allegata ad una cartella contenente tutti i suoi disegni: “Aaltje Dammer era una donna estremamente introversa, che da sempre ha dato forma alle sue emozione in modo rigoroso“. Nel 1928 – all’età di 21 anni – è stata ricoverata per la prima volta […]
M.T. LIGGETT
M.T. LIGGETT – POLITICAL SCULPTURE GARDEN 1930- | USA M.T. Liggett’s brightly painted metal cartoon figures dominate the roadside along a busy highway near Mullinville, Kansas, for almost a mile. In 1989, after retiring from a career in the military, Liggett returned to the farm on which he was born and began making metal sculptures […]
ODY SABAN
1953- | TURKEY – FRANCE Ody Saban was born in Istanbul, Turkey, to a Sephardic Jewish family. Her parents divorced when she was just five, her mother re-married a Turkish Muslim, whose artistic tendencies made their marl on the creative young girl. From the age of 16, Saban led an itinerant existence, living in Israel […]
SAÏ KIJIMA
JAPAN – SWITZERLAND Saï Kijima has been living in Europe for 30 years. His present residence is Basel, Switzerland. He devotes his life to Kalado, a unique system founded by himself. Kalado teaching connects art, bodywork, environmental awareness and the philosophy of empty mind. Saï is not related to any religious or cultural system. […]
TYREE GUYTON
THE HEIDELBERG PROJECT 1955- | USA Having grown un on Heidelberg Street and witnessed the tragic effect of the Detroit riot as a child, Tyree Guyton set about cleaning up the decaying area with the help of his grandfather Sam Mackey, his former wife Karen, and neighborhood children. In 1986, using the refuse they collected, […]
Yassir Amazine
YASSIR AMAZINE (1975, BELGIO) Yassir Amazine non vuole parlare della sua vita al di fuori del personale lavoro creativo presso lo studio di Luc Mondry e Nicole Babbles a La Clairière. Disegna grazie a penne a sfera blu, rosse e nere, utili strumenti per creare linee ripetitive e violente. Le penne, in mano sua, assomigliano […]
YASSIR AMAZINE
YASSIR AMAZINE (1975, BELGIUM) Yassir Amazine doesn’t wish to communicate on his life outside his creative work at the studio of Luc Mondry and Nicole Babbles at La Clairière. He makes drawings with black, red and blue ballpoint pens, in order to create repetitive and violent lines. He uses his pen like a weapon, as if […]
HERMAN BOSSERT
HERMAN BOSSERT (1940, NETHERLANDS) Herman Bossert was born in Amsterdam, in 1940, formerly a French teacher by profession. He’s a self-taught artist which creates paintings of mysterious town and city scenes that evokes associations with expressionism and surrealism.A major upheaval in 2001 led him to focus solely on drawing. He subsequently worked associatively, with a semi-automatic […]
Herman Bossert
HERMAN BOSSERT (1940, OLANDA) L’insegnante di francese Herman Bossert è nato ad Amsterdam nel 1940. Artista autodidatta, crea dipinti di città misteriose che evocano e richiamano dipinti espressionisti e surrealisti. Un grande sconvolgimento nel 2001 lo ha portato a concentrarsi esclusivamente su disegno. Successivamente ha lavorato in modo associativo, con un tratteggio semi-automatico e la tecnica […]
MARKUS MEURER
MARKUS MEURER 1959- | GERMANY Markus Meurer grew up in the sixties in a small Eifel valley, at the foot of Monreal castle. Meurer inherited his father’s animistic talents to see living creatures in every object. Wherever Meurer lives, he is seen by his peers as maladaptive and antisocial, but Meurer has no idea why […]
LEONARD KNIGHT
LEONARD KNIGHT – SALVATION MOUNTAIN (1931-) | USA Leonard Knight began painting and creating his Salvation Mountain after a failed attempt to fly the world’s largest balloon, which he had spent ten years trying to make. Knight decided to stay on in the launch area, in a part of the desert known as Slab City. […]
Kunizo Matsumoto
KUNIZO MATSUMOTO (1962, GIAPPONE) Kunizo Matsumoto è nato ad Osaka, Giappone, dove tutt’ora si occupa del lavaggio dei piatti nel ristorante di famiglia. Affascinato dalle note scritte sui taccuini dal personale dello stabilimento, ha cercato di riprodurli più volte, nonostante non abbia mai imparato a scrivere. Ossessivamente si è messo a raccogliere una serie di […]
KUNIZO MATSUMOTO
KUNIZO MATSUMOTO (1962, JAPAN) Kunizo Matsumoto was born in Osaka, Japan, where he is in charge of the dishes in the family restaurant. He was fascinated by the notes that the staff at the establishment wrote in little notebooks and attempted to reproduce them, event though he had never learnt to write. He obsessively collects […]
Raphaël Lonné
RAPHAËL LONNÉ (1910-1989, FRANCIA) Raphaël Lonné, originario di Landes, Francia, incominciò a lavorare come postino nel villaggio di Montfort-en-Chalosse. Dal 1937 lavorò a Bordeaux come bigliettaio del tram, poi come portinaio, autista e infermiere. Successivamente trovò impiego come postino in una piccola cittadina nella sua regione d’origine.I suoi primi lavori vennero creati durante alcune sedute spiritiche, […]
RAPHAEL LONNE
RAPHAËL LONNÉ (1910-1989, FRANCE) Raphaël Lonné was born in the Landes region of France. He worked as a postman in his village, Montfort-en-Chalosse. From 1937 he was employed in Bordeaux, first as a cashier on the trams, then as a concierge, driver and hospital worker. Subsequently he again found employment as a postman in a […]
EMILE RATIER
EMILE RATIER 1894-1984 | FRANCE Emile Ratier was born into a farming family established in Soturac, in the region of western France. A farmer, the young man left the farm to go to the front in 1914. Returning from war to the family farm, he became a timber merchant, then a clog-seller. From 1960 onwards, […]
JOHN MILKOVISCH
JOHN MILKOVISCH – THE BEERCAN HOUSE 1912-1988 | USA In 1968, tired of mowing his lawn, retired railway upholsterer John Milkovisch (1912-1988) concreted over his garden and embedded thousands of marbles, buttons, rocks and pieces of metal in the paths, the walls and the wooden fence. When his wife, Mary, asked him to clad the […]
MEHRDAD RASHIDI
MEHRDAD RASHIDI (1963, IRAN) Mehrdad Rashidi was born in the town of Sari in Northern Iran in 1963. At the age of 20 he fled Iran because of his strongly held political views and settled in Germany. In 2006, for no particular reason, he began to draw. He found it relaxed him and made him […]
Mehrdad Rashidi
MEHRDAD RASHIDI (1963, IRAN) Mehrdad Rashidi è nato nella città di Sari, nel nord dell’Iran, nel 1963. All’età di 20 anni fuggì dal suo paese a causa delle sue opinioni politiche e si stabilì in Germania. Nel 2006, senza alcuna ragione, incominciò a disegnare, trovando in tal pratica un mezzo di sfogo e felicità, uno […]
KARL JUNKER
KARL JUNKER – JUNKERHAUS 1850-1912 | GERMANY Karl Junker devoted his life to a single visionary project, constructing a heavily ornamented house at Lemgo, near Hanover, Gemany. After studying architecture in Munich, Junker used money he had received from an inheritance to build the house. He led a solitary life living alone for 22 years, […]
Marie Rose Lortet
MARIE-ROSE LORTET (1945, FRANCIA) Marie-Rose Lortet, originaria di Strasburgo, incominciò a creare opere tessili sin dalla tenera età, ispirata dalla tradizione, tutta femminile, che coinvolgeva i membri della sua famiglia. Creava piccole immagini di tessuto mai convenzionali. Nel 1967, con l’incoraggiamento di Jean Dubuffet, il lavoro della Lortet cominciò ad essere preso sul serio. A […]
MARIE-ROSE LORTET
MARIE-ROSE LORTET (1945, FRANCE) Marie-Rose Lortet, originally from Strasbourg, began knitting at an early age, inspired by the tradition which ran throughout the female members of her family. Creating small fabric pictures and textile pieces, her knit work was never of a conventional nature. In 1967, with the attention and encouragement of Jean Dubuffet, Lortet’s […]
Ying Gee Zhou
YING GEE ZHOU (1978, CINA-USA) Nata nel 1978, a Guandong, Cina, Ying Gee inizia a lavorare presso il Creative Growth con una forte attitudine per il disegno e la pittura. Da subito Zhou ha realizzato numerose opere con particolare attenzione per la pittura sia su carta che su tessuto. Il suo stile sciolto e punteggiato ricorda […]
YING GEE ZHOU
YING GEE ZHOU (1978, CHINA-USA) Born in 1978, in Guandong, China, Ying Gee came to Creative Growth with a strong aptitude for drawing and painting. Though relatively new to the studio, Zhou has created numerous works with a focus on painting, both on paper as well as textiles. Her loose, punctuated style is reminiscent of […]
JOHANN HAUSER
JOHANN HAUSER (1926-1996, AUSTRIA) Johann Hauser was born near Bratislava, Slovakia. As a child he was placed in a special school and remained illiterate. Considered to be feeble-minded, he was admitted to a psychiatric institution where he was described as dreamy, impulsive and quarrelsome. In 1949 he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Klosterneuburg, […]
Johann Hauser
JOHANN HAUSER (1926-1996, AUSTRIA) Johann Hauser è nato vicino a Bratislava, Slovacchia. Sin da bambino fu inserito in una scuola speciale rimanendo analfabeta. Considerato “debole di mente” fu ammesso in un’istituzione psichiatrica dove venne descritto come sognatore, impulsivo e litigioso. Nel 1949 è stato trasferito in un ospedale psichiatrico a Klosterneuburg, vicino a Vienna, dove sarebbe […]
GUERINO GALZERANO
GUERINO GALZERANO 1922-2002 | ITALY Guerino Galzerano was a baseborn farmer from Cilento (South Italy). After the marriage he emigrated to Germany as a hodman. In the 70s he was imprisoned in the psychiatric hospital of Aversa after a serious act of violence: in the outdoor spaces of the asylum he produced his first works. When he […]
Charles Benefiel
CHARLES BENEFIEL (1967, USA) Charles Benefiel è nato a Venice Beach, California. Le sue opere altamente dettagliate riflettono il suo disturbo ossessivo compulsivo. Utilizzando penne professionali, disegna una serie di punti atti a formare i suoi lavori, invasi da numeri e figure geometriche uniformi. Crea le sue opere a mano libera, senza l’ausilio di immagini […]
CHARLES BENEFIEL
CHARLES BENEFIEL (1967, USA) Charles Benefiel was born in Venice Beach, California. His highly detailed works reflect his condition of obsessive compulsive disorder. Using draughtsman’s pens, he draws series of dots and points to compose his pictures of linear numbers and uniform geometrical figures. Creating his pictures freehand, without any preconceived composition, he counts dots […]
Dr EVERMOR
Dr EVERMOR – FOREVERTRON 1939- | USA In 1983 salvage worker Tom O Every (Dr Evermor) passed his scrap business on to his son, began to call himself “Dr Evermor”, and started on the task of creating “Forevertron”, a massive construction designed to travel in space. The visionary piece of his sculpture, made from scrap […]
MARGARETHE HELD
MARGARETHE HELD (1894-1981, GERMANY) In 1925 Margarethe Held entered in contact with the spirits and communicated with her deceased husband and her father. In 1950, at the age of fifty-six, she began drawing : four hundred pastel drawings in four months – all dictated by spirits. Siwa ordered her to show to other mortals, through her […]
Margarethe Held
MARGARETHE HELD (1894-1981, GERMANIA) Nel 1925 Margarethe Held è entrata in contatto con gli spiriti: riuscì a comunicare con il suo defunto marito ed il padre. Nel 1950, all’età di cinquantasei anni, ha iniziato a disegnare. Il risultato fu un insieme di quattrocento disegni a pastello completati nell’arco di soli quattro mesi, tutti realizzati grazie […]
ZEBEDEE ARMSTRONG
ZEBEDEE ARMSTRONG 1911-1993 | AMERICA Born in 1911 in Georgia Zebedee Armstrong is an African American folk artist who creates complex calendars for predicting the end of the world. Like his father before him, Armstrong worked for much of his life on the Mack McCormick farm picking cotton. After the death of his wife, Armstrong […]
JACQUES LUCAS
JACQUES LUCAS 1944- | FRANCE After meeting the sculptor Robert Tatin in 1968, Jacques Lucas was inspired to begin work on his house near Rennes, Britanny. He covered the building with heavily ornamented reinforced structures, their forms and swirling patterns reminescent of the stonework of medieval cathedrals. Lucas brought his wide knowledge of the architecture […]
Nick Blinko
NICK BLINKO (1961, INGHILTERRA) Artista britannico, autore e musicista punk, Nick Blinko crea opere d’arte incredibilmente intricate che riflettono il religioso e macabro. I suoi paesaggi affollati, ricchi di simboli e suggestioni, raffigurano malinconia e paranoia e fungono da collegamento tra la virulenza del movimento punk e la catarsi dell’arte outsider. Blinko ha prodotto immagini sin […]
NICK BLINKO
NICK BLINKO (1961, ENGLAND) British artist, author and punk musician Nick Blinko creates incredibly intricate artworks that reflect the religious and macabre. His crowded landscapes, abundant with symbol and suggestion, depict melancholy and paranoia and serve as a link between the virulence of the punk movement and the catharsis of outsider art. Blinko has produced […]
HUNG TUNG
HUNG TUNG (1920-1987, TAIWAN) Hung Tung was born in 1920, in a small fishing village near Tainan, in the south of Taiwan. The land was poor and people’s lives were very hard. Hung Tung’s father was dead when he was born and his mother died when he was four. With no money in the family […]
Hung Tung
HUNG TUNG (1920-1987, TAIWAN) Hung Tung è nato nel 1920 in un piccolo villaggio di pescatori vicino Tainan, nel sud del Taiwan. La sua terra natia era povera e la gente viveva di stenti. Entrambi i genitori morirono quando Hung Tung era piccolo. Iniziò a lavorare rinunciando alla scuola, svolgendo piccole mansioni per guadagnare spiccioli […]
KEVIN DUFFY
KEVIN DUFFY – TUDOR VILLAGE 1945- | UNITED KINGDOM Kevin Duffy is a self-taught artist who has spent the last years building his own visionary environment. The only purpose of his buildings is to satisfy a need in Kevin to build, to create something. Kevin Duffy è un artista autodidatta che ha passato gli ultimi […]