Born in Nicaragua and based in Miami, self-taught artist Farley Aguilar fashions figurative paintings based on found photographs that engage him. At once profoundly disturbing and strikingly alluring, Aguilar’s paintings question and challenge our roles and society’s norms.

On view through Sunday, December 13, at Lyles & King, a handsome gallery space in Manhattan’s Chinatown, are four new paintings that focus on trauma’s impact on the body. Marked by the artist’s signature X’s, expressive scrawls and swirls, the artworks exude an ominous, sinister otherworldly aura. Perfectly reflecting the anxiety of our times, the dubious nature of the crowd and our detachment from one another, these four paintings are distinctly haunting and relevant.

Featured above is “Accused Woman,” fashioned in 2020 with oil, oil stick and graphite on linen. The other three paintings on exhibit follow:

“Unknown Woman.” 2020, Oil, oil stick and graphite on linen

“Shorn Woman,” 2020, Oil, oil stick and graphite on linen

“Crippled Children,” 2020, Oil and pencil on linen

Located at 21 Catherine Street, Lyles & King is open Tuesday – Saturday: 11am – 6pm and Sunday: 12 – 6pm.

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky

The late self-taught artist Purvis Young began creating art in his largely African-American Miami neighborhood of Overtown in the 1960’s. Working with discarded materials he found on the streets and in abandoned buildings, he forged a riveting, seductive array of mixed-media works reflecting his particular sensibility and his community’s circumstances.

Currently on view at James Fuentes Gallery on the Lower East Side is a selection of artworks — fusing the spiritual and political, while suggesting yearning, struggle, prayer and acceptance.

In the untitled mixed-media work featured above the floating eyes likely represent the artist’s — and perhaps the world’s — guardians. Several more images on exhibit at James Fuentes Gallery follow:

Untitled, 1974, Oil on wood

Untitled, 1973, Paint on wood

Untitled, 1989, House paint on plywood

Untitled, 1992, Acrylic and house paint on wood

Untitled, 1974, Paint on wood

The exhibition continues at James Fuentes Gallery, 55 Delancey Street , through December 6. It is open Tuesday–Sunday, 10am–6pm.

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky

Born in Paraguay in 1962, the poetically distinct visual artist Feliciano Centurión settled in Argentina, where he became a key figure in Buenos Aires cultural circles in the early 1990’s. Identified with both folk art and queer aesthetics, he left a significant body of wondrous art at the time of his death from AIDS-related complications in 1996. On view at the Americas Society through this Friday is the first solo exhibition of his work — as it continues to garner admiration and attention — outside of Latin America.

The image featured above, Florece (Flourishes), was fashioned with embroidery and thread on natural and synthetic fibers. It is one of many of Feliciano Centurión‘s artworks generally associated with women’s aesthetics. Several more images — all created between 1990 and 1995 — on view at the Americas Society follow:

Tigres (Tigers), Acrylic on blanket

Lagartijas (Lizards), Acrylic on blanket — one of the many images of subtropical animals painted onto blankets

Surubí, 1972, Acrylic and enamel on blanket

Estrella del Mar (Seastar), Embroidery on blanket and acrylic paint

Medusas (Jellyfish), Acrylic and crochet on blanket (L.); Pulpo Violeta (Purple Octopus), Acrylic on blanket and a selection of plastic toys with crochet

And on a somber note fashioned one year before the artist’s death:

Soy Alma en Pena (I Am a Soul in Pain), Embroidery on fabric

Curated by Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro, the exhibition continues at the Visual Arts Gallery of the Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue, through this week. You can book a time slot here for a visit Wednesday through Friday, 12 to 6 pm.

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

It is difficult to perceive of our nation’s punitive prison system as an incubator for creativity and inventive aesthetic processes. But for some prisoners it has become just that. Creating art is their means to liberate themselves from the confines of their captivity. It provides them with a positive identity, respect, camaraderie and even some income from commissions. Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration, brilliantly curated by Nicole R Fleetwood, presents the works of 44 artists — all with deep ties to our dysfunctional prison system.

The image featured above, Portrait of Rodney Spivey-Jones, was fashioned by the formerly-incarcerated, self-taught, Philadelphia-based artist Russell Craig. Constructed with paint, cow blood, book pages and leather on canvas, the portrait pays homage to Rodney Spivey-Jones, a currently incarcerated artist, who received his bachelor’s degree from Bard College in 2017 through the Bard Prison Initiative. Several more images from this soulful, wonderfully expressive exhibition follow:

A segment from “Apokaluptein 16389067” — masterly crafted from 2010-2013 with prison bed sheets, transferred newsprint, color pencil, graphite and gouache — by the formerly incarcerated, Philadelphia-based multidisciplinary artist and activist Jesse Krimes

Self-taught, formerly incarcerated, South Carolina-based, multidisciplinary artist Jared Owens, “The Go Back,” 2020, Ink, soil from prison yard at F.C.I. Fairton, and parachute cloth on canvas

San Quentin State Prison–incarcerated artist and musician Gary Harrell, “Restore Justice,” 2019, Linocut on paper

Puerto Rico-born, Brooklyn-based, formerly incarcerated, self-taught artist Gilberto Rivera, “Untitled,” 2020, Newspaper, caulk, silicone, spray paint, acrylic and markers on canvas, one of three panels

Formerly incarcerated artist Ronnie Goodman –– who tragically died this past August on the streets of San Francisco’s Mission District — “San Quentin Arts in Corrections Art Studio,” 2008, Acrylic on canvas

Pennsylvania-based incarcerated artist Mark Loughney, “Pyrrhic Defeat: A Visual Study of Mass Incarceration,” 2014–present, close-up from a series of 651 graphite drawings on paper of fellow inmates

This must-see exhibition continues through April 4. 2021 at MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens. For further information and to reserve a timed ticket, check here.

Photos of images: Lois Stavsky

The image pictured above, “Shovels,” was fashioned with dye on tooled leather by the self-taught Southern African-American artist Winfred Rembert. Rendered in 2009, it was one of dozens of works recently on view in An Alternative Canon: Art Dealers Collecting Outsider Art at the Andrew Edlin Gallery in Manhattan. What follows are several more artworks of folks at work by a variety of self-taught artists representing a diverse range of cultural and national backgrounds:

Nigerian native Abe Odebina, “Maintenance,” 2019, Acrylic on plywood — as seen earlier this year at Art on Paper in Manhattan

The late Mississippi native Theora Hamblett, “Making Sorghum,” 1964, Oil on canvas — as seen last year in “Vernancular Voices” at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans

Argentine folk artist Andrea Poceiro, “A Country Bakery,” 2017, Acrylic on canvas — as seen in 2018 group exhibition at GINA Gallery of International Naïve Art in Tel Aviv

The late Brooklyn-based artist Philip Weintraub, “Untitled,” Oil on canvas — as seen in 2019 group exhibition at the Self-Taught Art Genius Gallery in Long Island City

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

The image featured above in Part III of our series, A Couple of Couples, was fashioned by the self-taught Israeli artist Vered Gersztenkorn — whose beguiling aesthetic we discovered awhile back in Tel Aviv. Several more images of couples by a diverse range of artists — some self-taught and others formally trained — follow:

Self-taught Yonkers-based interdisciplinary artist Michael Cuomo, “Untitled,” Mixed media — as seen in his Yoho studio

NYC-based self-taught artist Erik Hanson does Bluto & Popeye: “Mykonos,” 2017, Oil on canvas — as seen in “PRIDE,” a group exhibition held last summer at Postmasters Gallery in Tribeca

Queens-based multidisciplinary artist Issa Ibrahim, “She Hulk and Plastic Man,” Acrylic on canvas — as seen last summer at the Living Museum on the grounds of the Creedmoor Medical Center in Queens Village, NY

Sunset Park-based visionary artist Mari Biro — one of her many paintings from her ongoing series, “Cell Cells” — as seen at the Sunset House of Art in Sunset Park, Brooklyn

The late self-taught Jamaican artist John Dunkley, “Diamond Wedding,” 1940, Mixed media on canvas — as seen last year in his solo exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

The alluring image featured above, “Cityscape with Cars,” was fashioned with oil paint on found wood by the late African-American, Miami-based self-taught artist, Purvis Young. I came upon it while visiting the epic exhibition Vernacular Voices at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans last year. What follows are several more images of landscapes — real and imaginary — all created by self-taught artists.

The late African-American, Louisiana-based self-taught artist, Clementine Hunter, “Cotton to Gin / Baptism,” 1950, Oil on panel — as seen last year at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans

The late self-taught Asian/Canadian artist Matthew Wong, “August,” 2018, watercolor on paper — as seen in his solo exhibition at Karma in the East Village in 2018

Another by the late self-taught Asian/Canadian artist Matthew Wong, “Untitled,” 2018, Watercolor on paper — as seen in his solo exhibition at Karma in the East Village in 2018

The late African-American/Native-American self-taught artist Joseph Elmer Yoakum, “Mt Look Out in Toppenish Range near Vancouver Washington,” 1968, Color pencil, ballpoint pen on paper — as seen last summer in his solo exhibition at Venus Over Manhattan on Manhattan’s Upper East

Photos of images by Lois Stavsky

Made up of assorted materials glued onto varied surfaces — from papers to wooden boards — collage art was first recognized as a distinct art form at the beginning of the 20th century. The collage pictured above, “We Dare to Know Where Our Tale Begin,” was fashioned in 2019 by the African-American, Milwaukee-based self-taught artist Della Wells. I discovered Della’s infectious aesthetic at this past January’s Outsider Art Fair. Several more collages by a diverse range of artists — all largely self-taught — follow:

The late, largely self-taught multimedia artist and activist David Wojnarowicz, “History Keeps Me Awake at Night,” 1986, Acrylic, spray paint and collaged paper on composition board — as seen in his 2018 solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum

The recently-deceased, self-taught collage artist Michael Anderson — as seen back in 2010 in his solo Chelsea exhibition, “The Street Is My Palette.”

The late celebrated, self-taught multi-media artist, Rammellzee, “Ransom Note…” Mixed media collage on board — as seen in his 2018 solo exhibition at Red Bull Arts New York 

Fountain House Gallery artist Roger Jones,”Untitled,”  Markers, pens and postage stamps  — as seen earlier this year in the  Fountain House Gallery Space in LIC

Photos of artworks by Lois Stavsky

I discovered Billy White‘s endearing, authentic aesthetic while visiting his solo exhibition, Coming to America, back in 2018 at Shrine Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Last week, I was delighted to visit his current exhibit, This is a Show by Billy, that continues through August 2 at Shrine.

Billy has been developing and honing his skills at the NIAD Art Center — an art studio and program for artists with developmental disabilities in Richmond, California — since 1994. Featured above is the artist’s self-portrait, fashioned with acrylic on linen in 2018. Several more images from the self-taught, African-American artist’s current exhibit follow:

Untitled, 2020, Acrylic on canvas

Joe DiMaggio. ca 2015, Acrylic and mixed media on stretched canvas

Untitled, 2020, Acrylic on canvas

And particularly apropos of our times — Untitled, 2018, Acrylic on canvas

Also on exhibit are a series of charming, glazed ceramic sculptures. Open Wednesday – Sunday
12pm–6pm, Shrine is located at 179 East Broadway on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. You can contact the gallery to schedule an appointment via its website.

Photos of artworks by Lois Stavsky