Outsider & Vernacular Art

Book excerpt: In the last five decades the popularity of outsider art (works by artists working outside of the art establishment) has grown exponentially. Museums, galleries, and the public worldwide have embraced these powerful works. Victor Keen's Collection at the Bethany Mission Gallery, Philadelphia, is one of the leading outsider art collections in the U.S. Gathering masterful artworks from Victor Keen's collection, Outsider & Vernacular Art presents pieces from more than forty outsider artists, including such luminaries as James Castle, Thornton Dial, Sam Doyle, Howard Finster, William Hawkins, Martín Ramírez, Bill Traylor, and George Widener. In addition to these outsider artworks, the book also features folk art and vernacular art, including one of the best collections of delightful colorful Catalin radios from the 1920s to the 1940s. The more than two hundred color images of these works are accompanied by essays from Frank Maresca, Edward Gómez and Lyle Rexer. Published to accompany a major exhibition at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center in Pueblo, Colorado, in October 2019, the first station of a traveling exhibition, Outsider & Vernacular Art offers an exciting look at this universally beloved and revered art form. Exhibition: Sangre de Cristo Arts Center, Pueblo, Colorado, USA (04.10.2019 - 12.01.2020) / Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago, USA (06.02.2020 - 03.05.2020).