the most beautiful toy, an 19th century tattoo book & more

this week in outsider art also a great asafo flag and a piece from the collection of kaws, including the 2024 outsider art fair lineup and a shoutout to my mom

Dec 03, 2023

THIS WEEK IN OUTSIDER ART

for daily postings of outsider art visit folkartwork.art

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Tiger Pull Toy (c. 1980) // Wood, paint; 4 × 4 × 9 in. (10.16 × 10.16 × 22.86 cm) via *Museum of International Folk Art*

**ARTIST UNIDENTIFIED** Tattoo Pattern Book (1873–1910) // Ink on oiled cloth, with buckram binding via *American Folk Art Museum*

**ARTISTS UNKNOWN** Prayer Stone Wrapper (Mid-20th century; Afghanistan) // Cotton ceremonial cloth of the Hazara-Shia people via *Museum of International Folk Art*

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

**VIVIAN MAIER** Self-Portrait Cat in Car Window (1966) // 12 × 12 in | 30.5 × 30.5 cm via *KP Projects Gallery*

**WILLIE JINKS** Untitled (“Fite”) (ca 1980s) // Paint on particle board; 51.25 x 33 inches via *SHRINE NYC*

**MORRIS HIRSHFIELD** Cat and Two Kittens (1945) // Oil on canvas via the collection of @kaws © 2023 Robert and Gail Rentzer for Estate of Morris Hirshfield / Licensed by Vaga at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Learn more about KAWS’ great art collection, including a wonderful Martín Ramírez and many more self-taught and outsider artworks

**ARTIST UNKNOWN** Asafo Flag (ca. 1863; Fante, African — present day Ghana) // Appliqued and embroidered cloth; Overall: 40 × 72 inches (101.6 × 182.9 cm) via *Detroit Institute of the Arts Museum*

*one of many pretty stellar hooked rugs by Alice Black, formerly of the Estate of Bruce Baker, Pittsburgh, PA*

**NORMAN BARNEY** God Watches but Does Nothing (2023) // Mixed media; 29 x 29 in via *Raw Vision Magazine*

**ESTEBAN WHITESIDE** Apartheid (2023) // Crayon on paper — *available for purchase via the artist in the FolkArtwork Collective shop* ✌️

Check out this week’s Esteban Whiteside art drop while supplies last

**BILL TRAYLOR** Mother with Child (ca. 1939-1942) // *Collection of Judy A. Saslow, Photo: James Prinz, Chicago h/t Smithsonian Magazine*

**ALOÏSE CORBAZ** Bridal bed he sees his psyche in the mirror of the stars (around 1930) via *Musee LaM*

**MARIA PRYMACHENKO** Bears at Apiary (1965) via National Museum of Ukrainian Folk Decorative Art, Kyiv, Ukraine

Thanks again to TheHungry.art for the shoutout in the Small Art Biz Boost!

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FEATURED ARTIST

**RAYASTRE** Cadavre Illuminé (2022) // Collage of roentgen photo, dried flowers from personal heritage, water transferred 19th-century etchings, light, in an antique frame with convex glass; 30-35-6cm courtesy *the artist*

be featured

OH WORD?

The field is set. This past week, the list of 63 exhibitors presenting at the 2024 Outsider Art Fair was announced. The 32nd year of the fair will feature nine new exhibitors, including some of your (and mine!) favorite galleries from across the country, including but not limited to The Pardee Collection in Iowa City, Jennifer Lauren Gallery out of the U.K., Lindsay Gallery in Ohio and SAGE Studio & Gallery out of Austin, Texas to name a few.

This year’s highlighted curated space will be Fifty Years of Creative Growth, perhaps the leading and most well-known progressive arts studio featuring work by artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This space is Tom di Maria, longtime director of Creative Growth and one of the nicest guys around. Tom was extremely kind with his time last year as I chatted about how hard it was for Creative Growth to first get into the fair, the joy of progressive art studios, and my love of Judith Scott.

Director Emeritus Tom di Maria will curate Expanding the Canon: 50 Years of Creative Growth, featuring artworks sourced from private collections including never-before-exhibited pieces by Dwight Mackintosh, Donald Mitchell, William Scott, Monica Valentine, Aurie Ramirez, William Tyler, and Judith Scott. The display will highlight CG’s historical significance as a model for other global programs, its role in hosting art and disability symposia, and its active exhibition program, which has led to the inclusion of its artists in prestigious shows at venues from the Museum of Modern Art to the Venice Biennale and the Centre Pompidou. The exhibit comes on the heels of the momentous announcement of CG’s multi-year partnership with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, recently the subject of a feature article in the New York Times.

For the past two years, I have been fortunate enough to travel to Manhattan for the Outsider Art Fair, which has always been my year's highlight. Being able to meet artists, gallerists, and lovers of outsider art, hear stories, make friends, and be completely in awe and inspired by the best artwork in the world. A kid in a candy store doesn’t even do justice to how much joy this event brings me. Hope to see you there!

Check out photos and highlights from last year’s Outsider Art Fair