Artist Dan Rhema & Outsider Museum director Alex Huninghake came to the studio to discuss Dan's exhibit at Outsider and the nature of "outsider" art. Tune in to 97.1 FM/Artxfm.com each Thursday at 10 am to hear Artists Talk with LVA.
Alex Huninghake is the founder and director of Outsider Art Museum & Gallery. Located in the historic Portland neighborhood of Louisville, just blocks from the Portland Museum and LVA, Outsider is a new space dedicated to the celebration of creative Outsiders - visual artists, musicians, writers, and performers who create outside cultural norms, the mainstream, or the realm of “fine art.” Individuals from diverse backgrounds who express themselves with pure, direct, uninhibited vision.
Outsider Art may encompass the following categories: American Contemporary Folk Art, Self-Taught Art, Art Brut, Visionary Art, and Naive Art.
Dan Rhema became an artist after contracting dengue fever (break-bone fever) and spinal meningitis while managing Intercultural Training and Retreat Center in Santiago Tuxla, Mexico.
During his recuperation, Dan began to compulsively create multimedia collages, sculptures, and masks from found objects. He also began to paint, capturing the images flowing through him in a unique three-dimensional style.
Viewers of his paintings, sculptures, and masks began describing it as visionary art, outsider art, self-taught art, or shamanic art. Dan understood that these acts of creation were healing and re-creating him. He has taken this realization and made it the focus of his art; trauma can awaken creativity and, through creativity, healing can begin.
