❥ outsider art fair this week!

this week in outsider art features a bird on a cat on a dog, art brut d'iran in paris france, a must-see show in brooklyn and we're about to hit the road to new york city!

Feb 23, 2025

*Me and Montrel Beverly of SAGE Studio & Gallery in his handmade pipe cleaner jacket at the 2024 Outsider Art Fair*

My favorite week of the year! No, not just because my wife and I get one week without our children waking up at 5:30am on the weekends or throwing food across the table at dinner while making fart jokes (oops thats me) — but because it’s Outsider Art Fair week!!!

The van is packed, the art is safe and sound, and after school tomorrow this little guy will hit the road leaving the frigid cold state of Iowa and driving all the way to the Big Apple for the to set up Booth C4 (BOOOOOM!) for the 2025 Outsider Art Fair opening this Thursday, February 27th!

Stay tune for updates from the road, booth installation behind the scenes, and whatever heck we get ourselves into… In the mean time, check out some of the available artwork in The FolkArtwork Collective online viewing room. See ya soon New York City!

And thanks mom and dad for watching our kiddos!!!

online viewing room

THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART

for daily postings of outsider art visit folkartwork.art or follow on instagram

**BARRY COLPITTS** A Bird on a Cat on a Dog (c. 2010) // Carved and painted wood; 15" x 3.5" x 19" via *Miller and Miller Auctions*

**MADALENA SANTOS REINBOLT** Untitled (1969–1976) // Wool on burlap; 32 7/8 x 40 1/2 in. (Collection Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand / Gift of Edmar Pinto Costa) via *American Folk Art Museum*

**MAKER UNKNOWN** Ceramic Mold for Mask (ca. 1945; Mexico) // Hand-built, unglazed molds for papier-mache masks via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1850s; Italy) // H 14.75 x W 17.5 x D 1.5 via *Trinket*

**JAMES "SON FORD" THOMAS** George Washington (c. 1990) // Unfired clay, paint, cotton via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**MEMBER OF THE DRAKE FAMILY** (Upson County, Georgia) Bible Scenes Quilt (ca. 1900) // Cotton; 76 1/2 x 71 inches via *High Museum of Art*

**SARAH LEE** Child in Alien Mask (2024) // Acrylic on wood; 11.7 x 8.3 in — *available for purchase only at the Outsider Art Fair (Feb. 27 - Mar. 02), inquire now.*

**JOE SLEEP** Startled Cat (c. 1970s) // Paint and felt markers on cardboard; 20" x 13.75" via *Miller and Miller Auctions*

**GUYODO** Untitled (2015) // Ballpoint pen on matboard; 19.5 x 15.5 inches (49.5 x 39.4 cm) via *Cavin-Morris Gallery*

**HORACE PIPPIN** Self-Portrait II (1944) // Oil on canvas, adhered to cardboard; 8 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (21.6 × 16.5 cm) via *The Met Museum*

**JOE ORTEGA** Untitled (Cat) (before 2003) // Wood and synthetic whiskers; 8 × 4 × 11 in. (20.3 × 10.2 × 27.9 cm) via *Smithsonian American Art Museum*

**JACKIE BRADSHAW** The Distance Between What Is And What Could Have Been (2024) // Watercolor on paper; 12 inches x 9 inches (framed:15.875 x 12.875 in) — *available for purchase only at the Outsider Art Fair (Feb. 27 - Mar. 02), inquire now.*

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FEATURED ARTIST OF THE WEEK

**LILY SMITH** Saint Lucy (2025) // Organic eco-friendly paint on canvas; 16” x 20” courtesy *the artist*

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» free preview of this week’s B-B-Bonus This Week in Outsider Art newsletter «

WATCHING AND READING

Here are a few things I’ve been watching this past week:

Here are a few things I’ve been reading this past week:

OH WORD?

» Art Brut d’Iran «

Endless congratulations to the one and only Morteza Zahedi and his wonderful wife, the extremely talented Sarvenaz Farsian on their beautiful exhibition of Iranian art that just opened last weekend at Halle Saint Pierre in Paris!

They’ve worked countless months through many potential setbacks and it looks phenomenal. I am so happy for my friends, and for everyone who was able to be at the opening to experience these incredible works of art from Iran.

All photos courtesy Morteza Zahedi and Sarvenaz Farsian of Outsiderinn Gallery in Tehran, Iran

“At a time when art brut is considered an inestimable artistic heritage, we discover that it knows no limits, whether historical, cultural, formal or geographical. The recent emergence of Iranian art brut on the international scene demonstrates this and contributes to taking this artistic phenomenon beyond its original Western roots. Whether in developed countries or in regions of the world still attached to vernacular knowledge, creators who break with social norms or experience a feeling of inner exile will always have privileged access to non-ordinary realities, to mental, cultural, ethical and therapeutic resources that are unexploited or devalued by their culture.”

— Martine Lusardy, director and curator of exhibitions

Art Brut d’Iran runs now until the end of July in Paris, France.

learn more

SHOUT OUTS

courttreecollective

A post shared by @courttreecollective

Shout out the Court Tree Collective in Brooklyn for putting on what looks like to be one hell of a wonderful show that opened this weekend! Featuring the works of the extremely talented Michael McGrath, the one and only MePaintsMe and works from Haitian art students curated by Charles Art Jerry.

m.r.mcgrath

A post shared by @m.r.mcgrath

See a sampling of the works on the post above and if you are at able, don’t you dare miss this show!

FROM THE COLLECTIVE

**SARAH LEE** Listen kitty, I live among the creatures of the night, I haven’t got the will to try and fight… (2024) // Giclee fine art prints on 320gsm cotton rag paper — *available for purchase via the artist in the FolkArtwork Collective shop*

Can’t make it to the Outsider Art Fair to purchase this work? No problem! Available for purchase high-quality art prints of this exact work, shipped directly from the artist in London to your door. Get yours now!

SARAH LEE is a self-taught Irish artist and illustrator working in London. Working full-time as a nurse and at a charity that runs workshops for people with mental health conditions. When she isn’t working or spending time with her daughter, Sarah paints every chance she gets.
Since she was a kid, she has made up characters and scenarios in her head and has always loved making art. She was once told by an art teacher that she wasn’t good at art, and it took years for her to finally pick back up a paintbrush and put those characters and scenarios down on canvas.

available for purchase

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