THIS IS THE PLACE FOR DISCOVERIES AND DISCUSSIONS OF THE MOST INVENTIVE ART FORMS – ALL KINDS OF ART THAT IS FAR-OUT, FANTASTIC, FREE-SPIRITED, FUN, FUNKY, PHENOMENAL AND GOOD FOR THE SOUL.
RECENT FEATURES
**ROB OBER: NO IDEOLOGY, PLEASE. THIS ART IS REAL.
“I am suspicious of art informed or directed by ideas or any ideology,” the American artist Rob Ober says. Keeping it real, authentic, shot through with a real pulse, and wildly colorful, Ober’s work feels irresistibly spontaneous and fresh. See. React. Paint. Here, the artist, who grew up all over the place, shares some thoughts about his art. Note to self: We’re in love with those gators. Click here to see article.
**JAMAICAN INTUITIVES: IT’S RAS DIZZY’S WORLD
Ras Dizzy (circa 1932-2008) was one of the most important of the Jamaican Intuitives, a group of self-taught artists whose works began to earn recognition in Jamaica in the late 1970s and notably contributed to shaping a sense of the postcolonial, independent island country’s national cultural identity. A selection of Dizzy’s works from a unique private collection. Click here to see article.
**A BIG, BOLD NEW BOOK: FRANÇOIS JAUVION’S TRIBUTE TO ART BRUT AND OUTSIDER ART MASTERS
In 2020, the French artist François Jauvion’s large-format book L’imagier singulier was published. It featured his own illustrations and texts by various specialists about the lives and accomplishments of numerous art brut and outsider artists. Now, a second volume of Jauvion’s big opus is here. See our overview of L’imagier singulier, Tome 2. Click here to see article.
**ARTIST CATHY WARD: IN LONDON, THE PSYCHIC, SOULFUL MESSAGES OF “THE ORACLES”
Like many art-makers, what with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic period and other concerns, the London-based artist Cathy Ward, who works in various media and genres, has wrestled with numerous, big challenges. Recently, as if purging the negative energy surrounding her, Ward sat down in a corner of her home to create a series of bold, mystical paintings. “They allowed me to reset myself,” she says. See a portfolio of these powerful new pictures. Click here to see article.
**PHOTOGRAPHER JOEL SIMPSON: CAPTURING NATURE’S BIZARRE CREATIVE SPIRIT — AND POWER
The photographer Joel Simpson travels widely in search of unusual natural rock formations and strange textures in the surface of the earth. Here, a selection of new photos from Simpson’s latest expeditions to the Southwest of the U.S.A. illustrates a theoretical approach he has developed to appreciating such striking images. As he notes, it leads viewers “from traditional landscape through abstraction, figuration, and finally to fiction." Click here to see article.
**OFF THE WALL: NEW YORK CITY STREET POETS AND VISIONARIES, THE KENNETH GOLDSMITH COLLECTION
In the 1980s, Kenneth Goldsmith, a poet and university professor, began tearing off anonymously made, handwritten ads, religious-themed proclamations, and oddball declarations that he found posted on walls and lampposts on the streets of New York City. A bemusing selection of such bizarre “poetry” was recently shown at Andrew Edlin Gallery. Click here to see article.
**GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: EMMANUEL HERZ’S JELLYFISH INVASION
Earlier this year, at the café/restaurant Remor in Geneva, Switzerland, we stumbled upon a stunning display of Emmanuel Herz’s festive “Fascinantes Méduses” (“Fascinating Jellyfish”), a group of sculptures and paintings that had taken over the old joint’s ceiling lamps and walls. We were smitten — and maybe also bitten. See out photo-filled report. Click here to see article.
PORTFOLIO OF DYSTOPIAN TIMES: FOR STEVEN HIRSCH, THE CURRENT, UNSETTLING ERA BEGAN WHEN A CERTAIN LAWYER STARTED COUGHING
The photographer-painter Steven Hirsch has contributed numerous images to brutjournal since the magazine first appeared in 2021. Recently, responding to today’s unsettling, uncertain political and economic currents, not to mention the lasting, dramatic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, he has produced a broad series of drawings and paintings that have captured the restless anxiety of these times. See our art-filled Hirsch portfolio and interview.
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THE SPIRIT OF CREATIVE RESISTANCE: AT 92, THE ARTIST MARY FRANK SHOWS US HOW IT’S DONE
Even at the age of 92, the New York-based artist Mary Frank continues being actively engaged in support of the anti-war, pro-peace movement. Now, alarmed by the drastic, destructive actions, pronouncements, and policies of Donald J. Trump’s regime, she observes, “There is nothing that is not going to be affected by [his actions] in the most horrendous ways.” We check in on the artist at her studio, examine one of her bold protest works, and learn about the precious, powerful life force. Free-access article.
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OUR DYSTOPIAN LEXICON: NOW LET’S LEARN OUR ABCs (A IS FOR “AUTOCRACY.” B IS FOR “BRIBERY.” C IS FOR “CORRUPTION.”)
As our special package of articles looking at the mood, atmosphere, impact, and meaning of the dystopian times much of the world is now passing through gets under way, we offer this timely lexicon. Because in this dark, unsettling era, you gotta know the lingo. See Edward M. Gómez’s “Dystopian ABCs.” Free-access article.
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SPY VS. SPY: A REVEALING EXHIBITION EXAMINES SURVEILLANCE METHODS FROM THE COLD WAR ERA AND ARTISTS’ CLEVER IDEAS ABOUT COUNTERSURVEILLANCE TODAY
At the Wende Museum in Culver City, California, “Counter/Surveillance: Control, Privacy, Agency” examines just who has been watching and listening in on whom — and how and why — since the Cold War era. Along with a wide selection of now-obsolete spycraft gizmos, the exhibition features works by an international group of contemporary artists who address the themes of surveilling people and being closely, menacingly observed. See brutjournal West Coast Bureau Chief Sarah Fensom’s photo-filled report.
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IN SWITZERLAND, THE COLLECTION DE L’ART BRUT SAYS, “¡VIVA EL ARTE DE CUBA!”
With its latest exhibition, “Art Brut Cuba,” the Lausanne-based Collection de l’Art Brut, the world’s leading museum focusing on the work of hard-to-classify, self-taught creators living on the margins of mainstream culture and society, vividly captures la onda — the vibe — of one of the most intriguing, if little-known, art-making currents to be found anywhere today. See Edward M. Gómez’s art-filled report about this revealing presentation, which also looks back at the museum’s earlier involvement with Cuban art. Free-access article.
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