Outsider Art, Art Brut,
Folk Art, Visionary Art, self-taught, naïve,
intuitive... most of the artists aren't concerned what they call themselves but the galleries
and collectors certainly are. Do they have formal training or not? No agreement there either.
Lots has been written about trying to categorize this work and everyone has an opinion. So,
here is ours. We like the word Visionary, because we feel the artists we work with know where
they are going, even if we may not understand it. They are not lacking for ideas or a message.
These are people who have a compulsion to make art, sometimes without knowing why, and often
after a life-changing experience. They just start creating. They have no desire to explain their
work or be discovered, at least at the beginning. Their work might be one long story or a
series of short ones, the experience that inspired each one being quenched. Circumstances may
have dealt them issues with which they continually struggle and are trying to resolve through
their work. They are outside of mainstream art, even if someone did teach them how to draw, or
just on the edge of society in general. They provide exposure into their world, real or
imaginary, and help us understand it and them a bit better.
