Category: Artists’ Showcase

Five years of kdoutsiderart: a celebration

Happy New Year! January 2017 is an exciting time for kdoutsiderart.com, as it marks 5 years since the very very first blog post! To mark this occasion, there will be two exciting things happening over the next couple of months. Before I go into these, I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all of the artists who have shared their work on the blog throughout the past 5 years, and a big thanks also goes to all of you readers – you’ve all given me reason to carry on writing when I felt I was sending stuff out into the abyss!

To thank you all, and to celebrate five years, I wanted to produce something physical in addition to something that is accessible from all over the world. For this reason, there will be two different exhibitions happening over the next couple of months. The first is a physical exhibition in Brighton, UK, showcasing the work of Scottish artist Steve Murison, and the second is an online exhibition featuring work by many of the artists who have appeared on this blog over the past five years.

Jazz Up Your Lizard: an exhibition of work by Steve Murison
Gallery Lock In, Brighton, United Kingdom
1st – 5th February 2017

A Lizard Hung by a Sickly Moon

I am so pleased to announce the opening of an exhibition of work by Scottish artist Steve Murison in collaboration with Gallery Lock In, Brighton (UK) in early February to mark the 5 year anniversary of the blog.

I have been a big fan of Steve’s work ever since I first saw it at Creative Future’s Impact Art Fair in 2013. Since then, I have featured Steve’s work on kdoutsiderart, and have a steadily growing collection of it at home. Steve’s work is vibrant, somewhat naive in form, but incredibly deep in content. His characters take the form of animals – real and fantastical, and his pieces are tagged with comical but relatable titles.

A Petrified Heart in a Splintered Box

The exhibition opens on 1st February 2017, 7 – 9pm.
It continues from 2nd – 5th February, 1 – 7pm daily.

Gallery Lock In
Little Western Street
Brighton
BN1 2PU

Click here for more information on Gallery Lock In

kdoutsiderart: 5 years
Online exhibition
Opens 1st January 2017

Jenifer Renzel, Totem Pointing East

I am equally as pleased to announce the launch of a new online exhibition to mark the anniversary. ‘kdoutsiderart: 5 Years’ will feature work by many of the artists who have had artists’ showcases on the blog since its inception. I asked each artist to send an image of their work to be included in the online display as thank you for sharing their work at some point over the past 5 years.

Red Tweny, Looking out on the Balcony

The exhibition is incredibly diverse, including mixed media pieces, paintings, drawings, computer-generated art and sculpture.

Click here to visit the online exhibition

January 1, 2017
Artist Showcase: Levan Amashukeli

This week’s Artist Showcase features the work of Levan Amashukeli. If you relate in some way to the term ‘outsider art’, email kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com to discuss a feature on your work.

Cat in a Bag

When did your interest in art/creating begin?

My interest in art and painting started when I was 3, maybe 4 years old. My father was a self-taught artist, so I often sat beside him while he painted. That was also when I understood and learnt how to mix colors and small details. Then I started to paint myself and the stone rolled down.

Ego

What is your starting point for each piece?

My starting point for each piece is a line, a free, unstructured line. Then I stop to see what will come out of it and – something magical can start with that line. Sometimes I let my 2 year old daughter Tamara start the process and then I continue and finish it. It’s very interesting and exciting to start from pure unknowns.

Cold

Who/what influences your work?

My art is influenced mainly by artists like Franz Marc, Otto Muller, Egon Schiele, Dali, Magritte and many others. All my childhood I used to read books about art and essays by artists I admire. German Expressionism with its colors, and Surrealism with its forms have a big influence on my art.

Hich Kok

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

I hope the viewers will see my art and interpret it in their own ways. My art is an universal narrative and it can be interpreted in different ways. Sometimes I collaborate with a viewer and change the name of my art piece, depending on the interpretation that is interesting for the viewer.

Mike or Not

What do you think about the term outsider art? Is there a term that you think works better?

My favorite novel is ‘The Outsider’ by Albert Camus. This novel gave me the inspiration for the term ‘outsider art’ and I like it very much. I think that every artist is an outsider at the beginning, then they start to study at art academies and become influenced by other artists. I will add something like Pure Art or Digital Brut to Digital Outsider Art.

Pressure

What are you working on at the moment?

Now I’m working on a joint project with French photographer Sebastien Canaud. This project is a mix of photography and digital art; classic black and white versus digital colors. Photos taken in an asylum near Tbilisi, Georgia, will be reinterpreted differently, newly and more colorfully. The exhibition will take place in February 2017.

They Think I’m Ugly

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

The future is here and now.

Up There

Click here to see more of Levan’s work

December 21, 2016
Artist Showcase: Rodolphe Hammadi

This artist showcase comes from Rodolphe Hammadi. Rodolphe has been working on his ‘Weapons’ series (below) for the past seven years. He is in the process of planning exhibitions in France and working on his biggest ‘Weapon’ yet.

If you would like a showcase of your work on kdoutsiderart, please email kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com.

Le Sire

When did you become interested in art and creating?

This interest coincided with my arrival in Paris in 1979 and my learning of photography. I met then the sculptor/designer Pucci de Rossi and became his assistant. Later on, I met the photographer Irina Ionesco and the painter Corneille who founded the COBRA group. During these many years of learning, I met many people dedicated to the arts.

Samson-Delila

What is your starting point for each work?

In my latest work, ‘Weapons,’ salvage is the core of my work. It always starts with a tree branch which has usually been thrown away. I often ask my relatives to bring me back a small branch of a tree from their travels abroad. For me, the branch is the main material, the backbone of my work. Without it, I cannot build my sculpture and its story.

Capitaine

Who/what influences your work ?

My influences are many. I draw on the great reservoir of life, through readings, past or present events, meetings etc. My last work is particularly inspired, through my interest for nature, by one of its masters: the tree. The tree never asks anything, though it gives a lot. The tree is a sign of life and of its vulnerability to the destructive impulses of man.

Capitaine Achab

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

My ‘Weapons’ stirs dialogue, questions our relationship to things and to our history, and encourages our care about our natural environment. A close link is forged with the viewer via the objects used: a silver spoon or a couple of marbles can look at you, and call you back to your childhood. I’ve never met anyone who never climbed a tree!

Le Sire

What do you think about the term outsider art? Is there a term that you think works better?

‘Outsider art’ is a way to classify an art form, but does it label the artist? There are so many artists in this world, and ‘artist’ is an eternal word. My work can be classified as ‘Outsider art’ but also as ‘Singular Art.’ I’d say I’m in the ‘Outsingart’ category! Seriously, I’m fond of Asgern Yorn’s words: “The artist is a professional amateur.” The term ‘Artisan’ would suit me too.

Le Papillon

What are you working on at the moment?

I am preparing several exhibitions in France next year, and I am starting a new piece. It is a small tree, a birch that I salvaged one year ago and that is still drying in my studio. I’m carving little clay two-heads faces that will be inserted, with many other objects, in this small tree. It is going to be the biggest of my ‘Weapons.’

Le Tambourinaire

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

I’ve been working on my ‘Weapons’ for seven years now, and I still feel like each of my pieces is part of a puzzle. A puzzle of a form and size that is still unknown to me at this stage.

Below, you’ll find some detail shots of Rodolphe’s ‘Weapons’ series. Click on an image to enlarge it.

Click here for more information on Rodolphe and his work

November 23, 2016
Artist Showcase: Efnu Nirwana

This week’s artist showcase features the fantastic work of Efnu Nirwana. If you relate in some way to the term outsider art and would like to have your work featured on the blog, please email kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com.

Broken String Affanato

Love No Border for Love

When did your interest in art/creating begin?

Well, I have to pull back to the time in my childhood. I was never an athletic kid, my agility was very bad. I wasn’t a kid who had a sparkling brain which maybe meant I became a victim of bullying. I often went home from school crying because of this and my parents preferred to lock me in the house to make me ‘safe’. I became a very little shy kid with very low confidence, it was hard for me to talk with ‘strangers’ – everybody was a stranger for me in that time. At home my parents bought me a lot of toys, comics and children’s books. I was amazed by the graphic illustrations in some of the children’s books; I would immerse myself in the stories of the books. My favourite is Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five, TinTin and Asterix Obelix – of course translated to Bahasa Indonesia. From there I started doodling then making up stories. You know, little kid business. Slowly I built my confidence. My parents never saw this as a talent but they are quite happy because it kept me busy. Drawing is a way for me to socialise with the world and from there I kept drawing. Seriously I never aspired to be an artist or a musician. I just love what I am doing right now, making art.

Let Our Violence End

What is your starting point for each piece?

It comes from observations, research, reading newspapers, random conversations with friends – or even strangers, stories amongst travellers I meet, socio-political issues locally and globally, human connection. Then I start making up stories and visualise that on canvas or other mediums. I just randomly draw, usually linked to my personal feelings, my anxiety or my ups and downs.

Ride on Waves

Sliding Justice

Who/what influences your work?

Socio-political issues, environmental issues. It could be anything, particularly works by my favourite artists. There is a bucket load of artists who inspire me. I am amazed by the work of Egon Schiele, Joseph Beuys, Daniel Johnston, Peter Saul, Robert Crumb, Kathe Kollwitz, and recently I have been enjoying Markus Lupertz. CoBra artists also have a huge impact on me. Eddie Harra, Entang Wiharso, Dadang Christanto and Heri Dono will always be my favourite Indonesian artists. Of course I get a lot of inspiration from my fellow artists. And thanks as well to the magic human invention called the internet, which stores infinite ideas.

Drink this Poison Sayang

The King of Misery

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

Well… There are figures, lines, dots and colour – and other meanings I put into my works, but I don’t want to orchestrate people’s perception. I don’t have expectations from people who see my work. It can’t change the world, it sounds cliche for me. I prefer to think that my works could trigger something, I don’t know what, but I leave people free to question things by themselves. Then maybe they can discuss it later in a coffee shop with their friends, crafting awareness about issues I want to share. Hopefully. I think that makes art more intimate, more sexy and enjoyable. My work is only a catalyst and it’s supposed to be like that. I know there is a phrase ‘art speaks for itself’, but I think it should be a two way communication, right?

Have a Good Nightmare

What do you think about the term outsider art? Is there a term that you think works better?

Outsider means a person not belonging to a particular group or whatever, isn’t it?

What makes the thing or person become art / an artist? Do they have to graduate from art school? Do they have to sell their work for thousands of dollars? Do they need words from prominent curators? Do they have to lead an eccentric lifestyle? Or do they need to have beautiful artworks?

If these conditions are a must, then I am not an artist and whatever art I do isn’t worth something, it is meaningless.

Sometimes the term outsider art makes me sad. This label for me sounds like something/someone has been rejected from society, they are a bad fruit on the tree, an ugly duck in a band, but somehow it also gives freedom to make art, to do whatever you want without any pressure, without certification from authority. I don’t know another term to describe it better.

Wake Me Up When the Storm is Over

What are you working on at the moment?

After my art-social project and an exhibition in Germany last summer there is homework I should be doing. I also left behind three series of paintings to finish. I’m drawing everyday and making woodcut prints and t-shirts as merchandise to sustain my artist life. That’s my daily routine.

Falstory

Just Ice Melting in Your Cocktail Glass

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

I am really enjoying working as an artist/musician. It’s a way for my opinion to be heard and seen. I know it’s hard to live as an artist. Working on social projects also really interests me. I’m still working on it. I think I will keep doing this and I don’t know why I’m still doing it. It is seriously fun, I guess. Future, surprise me!

For more of Efnu’s work, click here

November 9, 2016
Artist Showcase: Gary Mayer

This week’s artist showcase features the work of Gary Mayer. If you relate in some way to the term outsider art and would like to see your work have its own showcase on the blog, please email kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com.

Unbridled

When did your interest in art/creating begin?

At a very early age – there are a lot of artists in my family.

Love and Pogo

What is your starting point for each piece?

Sometimes I can see them in advance sometimes I work withe a theme or even a shape or being and that’s enough to begin a dream an invention.

Spectral Dance

Who/what influences your work?

Nature, people, other people’s comments on my art – they make a connection and I see possibility in it.

Unrepentant Nature

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

I hope it sends them some surprising place or connects to some experience in them not necessarily pleasant but vivid.

Zu Runs Rampant

What do you think about the term outsider art? Is there a term that you think works better?

I think a lot of art is outsider art that arises out of a necessity or even a compulsion to express and not a strategy to succeed in a narrow field that most of the art world is.

Bamboozled

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on some large sculptures of monsters. There has always been some exaggeration and distortion in my work and I’m taking it to a place that’s more literal and hopefully fun.

Dionysus

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

I just ride the wave of possibility that this or that detail or moment in my previous work suggests and takes me all sorts of places I couldn’t predict and I find that kind of thrilling.

October 26, 2016
Artist Showcase: Jenifer Renzel

This artist showcase brings you the 2D and assemblage work of Jenifer Ranzel. If you would like to see your work on kdoutsiderart.com, please email kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com.

Cinequest

When did your interest in art/creating begin?

I’ve always been interested in art, but didn’t find a medium that really worked for me until I was about 40. A dear friend of ours was doing assemblage art and selling at craft shows. She was diagnosed with cancer, and decided to teach classes on assemblage at her home to bring in some income as she took treatment. I was one of the students in her first course, which is really what got me started in the medium. Our friend did not survive her cancer, but she did leave me with a wonderful gift. That was over ten years ago. In the last two years, I’ve become interested in painting. I took a course from Jesse Reno up in Portland, and fell in love with his approach to art. In a nutshell, his approach is to lay down some crazy fabulous background without having a direction in mind. Then, as the background begins to take shape, you let the subject of the painting reveal itself and you begin working in that direction.

Huffelmump

What is your starting point for each piece?

With the assemblages, the starting point is often a single compelling item such as a skull, a weird toy, a doll part, and so forth. Alternatively, the starting point is something that just pops into my head. My best ideas often come when letting my mind wander before bedtime, when working out, or when traveling. I also like Pinterest or a good old Google image search for quick inspiration. Sometimes my ideas come out of nowhere – I have an active imagination that is always coming up with something.

Circus Contraption

Who/what influences your work?

Influences include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jesse Reno, Hieronymous Bosch, Ron Pippin, Alexander Calder, and H.P. Lovecraft.

The Gorp

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

I want them to get a little lost for a moment or two as they let the piece send them somewhere – maybe back in time to childhood or off into a strange future.

Behemoths

What do you think about the term outsider art? Is there a term that you think works better?

Well, its original meaning has been diluted over time. I really enjoy the work of original ‘outsider artists’ who were driven to work because of their inner demons and without the ‘interference’ of formal training. I use this label for my art because it’s the most common term out there, but I’m not sure it’s the right label. Jesse Reno uses the term ‘modern primitive,’ which I like, but in today’s world of web searches you almost have to use the most common term so you get good search results.

The Ward

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m working on three ‘vehicle contraptions.’ These are table top assemblages that look like rickety little automobiles with demented puppet-headed drivers.

Elephant Mountain

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

I will keep making art and evolving my style for the rest of my life – that’s the only thing I know for sure. Like almost every other artist on the planet, I would thrill at the possibility of making art full time (because I’m so successful that my pieces sell for big money). Not quite there yet, but the joy of creation is a big enough payoff in itself.

The Styx

To see more Jenifer’s work, please visit here Deviant Art Gallery by clicking here. You can see more of her assemblages by clicking here.

October 12, 2016
Artist Showcase: Liam Hassan Beserekumo

This artist showcase comes from Liam Hassan Beserekumo. Liam is inspired by bright colours, abstract art, African art, his own imagination and his emotional state at the time of creating. He sees himself as working within the mainstream, bringing strands of outsider, disability and mainstream together to encourage social inclusion and overcome stigmatised labels such as ‘outsider.’

When did your interest in art/creating begin?

When I was a kid I ended up doing doodles when I was stressed. I lost a lot of my family and I used art as a therapy to bring out all my feelings. It was an outlet because I was holding on to bad feelings I wanted to make them into something positive and I used art to relax myself. When I was a kid in Liverpool I was bored and walked around a lot, I went to derelict buildings and explored and I would collect objects. This collecting became an important part of my creative process. I ended up dragging old wooden crates and getting a hammer and nailing them together to make a den structure to sit in in my garden.

I started using creativity more inside LHAP a special needs day centre. There, I made a college of a castle out of cardboard. I started then processing the work and working with the staff there. I realised that LHAP was not the right place for me; it was getting too loud for me to concentrate and I started working from my own studio in Woolwich.

What is your starting point for each piece?

I create abstract images that come from my own unique interpretation of things I encounter or find in my imagination. This could be found objects, buildings or landscapes. I usually draw on paper but then struggled transferring them onto canvas, the feelings were not going to the object once I had put them down on paper. It can be hard to process the work and copy it from the paper, so now sometimes I use a projector to project large images onto large canvases. I sometimes work from photographs, using the photo as a template.

The starting point is painting the background and after the background I start doing all the pencil lines and then I take a picture of it and then I start processing the paint until I am ready and satisfied it will give the right colours and visuals. I let myself go and relax I can go from the very small abstract to the big abstract.

Who/what influences your work?

I influence myself. I end up feeling sad in life and I need something to lean on and it ends up being art! Bright colours, abstract art, African art, my imagination and my emotional state at the time influence my work.

Also Steven Wiltshire is a big influence. When I found out about Steven Wiltshire I was influenced by his life as an artist and I used him as a role model for me to see myself doing artwork. Steven Wiltshire is a visual artist who works in realism, he has a visual mind and he also has autism.

Liam in his studio

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

I hope the viewer makes their own choices about what they see inside each piece. I do not put a title on any of my work and leave it open for the viewer to see anything they need or want to see and make their own interpretation or assumption. I don’t want to limit people’s understanding of my work.

What do you think about the term outsider art? Is there a term that you think works better?

I don’t really like the word outsider. I have learning disabilities but do not want to sell myself as a disabled artist, I am just myself. I believe in social inclusion and am interested in working within the mainstream, bringing outsider, disability and mainstream together. I want society to be more accepting of people.

What are you working on at the moment?

Recently have painted my largest canvases yet, I need to be feeling patient and relaxed and I make different kinds of marks with the paints when I am feeling different emotions. I am starting to experiment with painting furniture, I have done two tables but chairs are a bit too complex. I have no particular plan I just want to keep on going and creating and feeling stronger.

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

I have considered trying to paint realism but my mind is set in abstract. I would like to think about making my own canvases in different shapes. I want to get far and feel no stress, I would like to make some more money from my art and I can see myself having my own gallery shop. I would love to do a solo show in my hometown of Liverpool. I am interested in doing my designs on clothes as well. I would like to do some community work and painting workshops for other disabled people, sharing my story of moving from institutions to working from own studio.

Click here to see more work by Liam

September 14, 2016
Artist Showcase: ColdMountainGypsy

This artist showcase features the work of ColdMountainGypsy whose folkloric work is inspired by poetry, stories and dreams. If you would like to see a showcase of your work here on kdoutsiderart.com, please email kdoutsiderart@yahoo.com with a few examples of your art.

Aurora

When did your interest in art/creating begin?

I have loved art since I was able to grasp a crayon. My bedroom as a child was adorned with sketches of my beloved cat and dog. As a child my gifts to my family were always art. I often sent drawings to my grandparents when asked to write to them. I found art to be my letter, my thoughts, my little messages. Art even as a child gave me escapism, unbinding creativity and utter happiness. Art has always given me a voice, comfort, solace.

Eternity

What is your starting point for each piece?

The starting points from my art are always different. My muses appear when they wish. Some are inspired through reading, some through nature, and some in dreams.

May the Forest be With You

Who or what influences your work?

My influences are many, so in short: Pappa (GOD) my mother, my father, my husband, my brother, daughter, my fur babies, Cold Mountain, Forests, Poetry, Comics, the stars and the heavens, creatures great and small, angels, folk stories… even my stories or dreams. I write and dream lots.

Renegades

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

What I hope the viewer gets from my work is wonder. There is no greater joy than hearing that someone loves your art. Every person that looks at a piece of art sees it in their own way. I have attached stories to some of the pieces to explain my muse or muses. I do feel that great and epic tales – be it folk or poetical or just sheer fantasy – should be shared. In my childhood I loved campfire stories and poetry. All of my works have stories, and I really hope they inspire happiness, wonder, a sense of magic, peace, contentment, folly, whimsy, brevity, and courage. My deepest hope is that someone out there decides to dive into art! My wish is that others realize how many of us are out there. Art is not just for those with a long listed pedigree. Art is for every caste. Art is a legacy for everyone to not only observe but partake in.

Marina

What do you think about the term outsider art? Is there a term that you think works better?

I like the term Outsider Art because we are just that. If you are self-taught, have no sponsor, you have no displays in a public setting, you are not published in magazines, and if you don’t have art credentials then you very much are outside the renowned art hub. Self-taught artists are often not given chances for their art to even be shown. I know this because so far I have found only one open heart for me in my very artistic community. For me since I also paint always outside ‘en plein air’ the name suits me just fine. I often find I am more comfortable out in nature with my easel than in a crowd. For me, I never really quite fit in. For me, I have always been a bit of a black sheep and find inspiration in under dogs, in the misunderstood, the wanderers, and the dreamers. Simply put: ‘YOU ARE ENOUGH.’

I think everyone out there has art in them waiting to get out. The arts are not just paintings… The arts are so vast and are the last refuge for us all. People often forget the art of music, the art of dance, the art of poetry, the art of theatre, film… The arts are always dubbed in school as the ‘humanities.’ We live in a world with so many freedoms being taken away year by year that I hope all of the arts remain intact.

A Mewsing

What are you working on at the moment?

I am working currently on Minnehaha, which has been inspired by my love of the epic book by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha.

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

I really cannot predict where it will take me, I only know I will enjoy every minute of it.

Click here to see more of ColdMountainGyspy’s work

August 31, 2016
Artist Showcase: Chris Padgham

In this artist showcase, Chris Padgham shares some of his amazing cartoon animal characters, and tells us about his ultimate dream of becoming a famous cartoon artist, working for Disney or Dreamworks Animation.

Jim and Ruby the Koalas

When did your interest in art/creating begin?

I got interested in art when I was 13. I did art at school but I was not sure at the time if that was what I wanted to do after I left school. I went to college and did 2 years of Art & Design Levels 1 & 2 where I got Distinction. I knew I had the ideas and imagination to create something different and that is where it began.

Wally the Walrus

What is your starting point for each piece?

I normally draw out sketches and come up with ideas but sometimes when I put my mind to it I get straight on with my drawings. I can normally picture in my head what the characters are going to act and look like even before I start drawing them which I think is unique to me.

Pablo the Zebra

Who/what influences your work?

I have always loved Walt Disney & Dreamworks Animation. Their films influence how I would like to draw. The characters they create are amazing. I get my inspiration from them. I do my work in my own style but they will always be inspiring to me and I will want to show that in all my work.

Rex the Rhino

What do you hope the viewer gets from your work?

I want viewers to look at my work and say that it is unique, different, imaginative and that they can relate to the characters I draw. I always try and ask other artists what they think of my work and I love that I get different answers because I use their answers and create other characters to keep developing myself as an artist.

Damien the Wolf

What do you think about the term outsider art? Is there a term that you think works better?

I think the term outsider art is OK. For me it represents art that is like graffiti, or it’s made by artists who draw and paint outside the box which I really like. I don’t think there are many other terms that are better but I have always wanted to explore different types of art so that I can keep my work up to date.

Dirk the Panda

What are you working on at the moment?

At this current moment in time I am doing a project called Movie Ideas where I write out plots for movies I dream of being created. I am also working on a project where I am creating my own theme park. I have made my own themed rides and designs. I am also focusing on different projects here and there and making my work as unique as possible.

Sebastian the Sealion

Where do you see your work taking you in the future?

In the Future I would love to work for Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, or Dreamworks Animation. I would focus on the drawing and writing side. I think I would be different; unique, and that I would bring something new to these companies. My biggest dream is getting my work recognised round the world. I am a very determined and ambitious person. I will not stop until I achieve my dream of becoming a famous cartoon artist.

Click here to see more of Chris’ work

August 17, 2016
Ben Ali: Magic in a Moroccan Junk Market

In this post, Jeremy Davies writes about two upcoming exhibitions in Morocco featuring the work of self-taught ‘junk market artist’ Ben Ali.

Ben Ali

“It is rare to find an artistic genius; still rarer to find two in the same family. But leading Italian art critic Corrado Levi believes he has done just that, in a junk market in Morocco.

The geniuses in question are Ben Ali (Abdelghani Didouh, born 1966) and his late father Ali; the junk market is in Essaouira, a fishing port and seaside resort on Morocco’s Atlantic coast, around 200km west of Marrakech.

Ben Ali

Ben Ali has been painting in his tiny, one-room studio in the junk market since the mid-2000s. This is a humble place, one of around 30 semi-derelict fishermen’s huts sandwiched between the abandoned sardine canning factories of Essaouira’s former industrial quarter and the vast wilderness of the Atlantic Ocean.

A gentle, soft-spoken man, Ben Ali is a self-taught painter, who turned to art after his previous career as a fisherman came to an abrupt end when the sea stole his boat, his friends and one of his brothers.

Ben Ali

He paints from tiny pots of enamel, mixing the colours on cardboard and brushing straight onto canvas, wooden panels and objects bought or found in the joteya (junk market): old TVs, boat oars, wooden washboards, doors, cupboards and gas canisters. His emphasis is on shape and colour, with little in the way of perspective.

The results are bold, thoughtful, and often quietly disturbing. His characters are ethereal and amorphous; some are human, some animal and some both. There are skull-like faces; dark, sharp-eyed figures, both male and female; shadowy wraiths with thin, elongated legs; horned goats, donkeys and huge, legless cows. We see tiny details too, like recurring motifs: guns, flowers, a key, a dentist’s pliers.

Ben Ali

As viewers we sense strongly that Ben Ali is painting to exorcise his demons. Indeed, while reticent about explaining his art, he almost admits as much: “In my paintings there are all the ghosts, that little by little appear on the canvas like the memories of a childhood dream.”

From an early age Ben Ali watched and learned from his father Ali, a former Vietnam veteran who effectively founded a ‘school’ of artists in the joteya during the 1970s.

Ben Ali

Ali’s art, which broke all the rules of Muslim culture by presenting graphic depictions of human sexuality, remains largely hidden from public view but is highly prized by collectors, who believe Ali warrants international recognition as a major artist.

Ben Ali’s imagined worlds undoubtedly draw inspiration from the work of his father.

“When I saw the work of my father I loved it,” he says. “More than anything else, his work was simple, it made me laugh or hurt me, and this is the reason I loved his work. Every time I passed by to see him, it inspired me more and more. I chose the name Ben Ali (the son of Ali) because I am my father’s son. I work in my father’s studio and I continue the work of my father.”

Ben Ali

But Corrado Levi – an architect, artist, teacher, theorist, curator, freethinker and intellectual, who is one of Italy’s most respected art critics – says Ben Ali has built on his heritage and transcended it to find his own style.

“The father Ali paints a humanity possessed of sexuality: men display their sex provocatively, and women show theirs without shame. The son Ben Ali, meanwhile, paints figures that don’t show their sex, and so the male/female identity remains nuanced.

“The father Ali spreads out the paint with repeated brush strokes, creating a delicacy and vibrancy that contrasts with the violence of his representation. The son Ben Ali, on the other hand, uses dense and glossy paint, and so his ghostly subjects seem to wander in an unlimited space.

Ben Ali

“The bodies of the father Ali push themselves into bold, distorted shapes (think of the later Matisse gouache cut-outs). The bodies of the son Ben Ali have threadlike legs, accentuating their formlessness.

“To simplify: Ali: the body and substance. Ben Ali: the spirit and transparency. Two geniuses.”

This summer Essaouira is hosting two exhibitions of Ben Ali’s works, curated by two local galleries, Elizir and Mashi Mushki: a retrospective at the swanky Sofitel Essaouira Mogador Golf and Spa (15 July to 4 September), and a collection of new works at Dar Souiri, a cultural centre in the walled old town (26 August to 4 September).

The exhibitions are being held to raise money for Project 91, a local charity which is setting up a fund for the widows of fishermen lost at sea.

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July 13, 2016