The Journey: A National Juried Exhibition for Emerging Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25

Where: Ripley Center

When: through January 5, 2015

At long last, an opportunity to return to the Ripley!  I can't remember when they last had an exhibit in the International Gallery, and I don't see one scheduled any time soon.  It's a shame, really.  As much as the space itself is not terribly appealing, I've seen some great shows in there.  Oh well, I can only hope that 2015 provides me with a chance to return.

The show I saw earlier this week is set up in the main space, a sort of hallway that provides access to various lecture rooms, offices and other museums.  It's a bit of an odd area for a display, but it's better than the little corridor they've used for this show in the past.  For I wasn't just happy to be returning to the Ripley, I was also happy to be seeing this exhibit of works by young artists with disabilities.  This is the third, or maybe fourth, year I've seen this, and it's always full of interesting (well, sometimes weird) pieces.

The piece that caught my eye this year was "Never Stopping" by Gianna Paniagua.  Gianna is the recipient of a heart transplant, and the piece was meant to portray that major event in her life.  Her piece consists of paper cuttings put together into a collage; I can't imagine how much work that must take, to cut all that paper by hand.  She describes it as a form of meditation, and I can see how, once you had learned how to do the cutting, it could become meditative.  Her images include legs, bananas and hands in circular patterns, along with cutout paper, that has a flowing motion to it.  What I took from this piece was that life is a flow; we're always running, always reaching for something.

At what point, though, does this reaching and striving become too much?  At what point do we need to slow down, to turn inward, to think before acting?  Isn't that what art asks us to do?  To pause and examine what's in front of us; to get wisdom not only from the journey, but from the stops along the way?

Verdict: This show is worth a look every year.  You never know when today's "emerging artist" will become tomorrow's celebrated master.

In/finite Earth: A National Juried Exhibition for Emerging Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25

Where: Ripley Center

When: through January 2014

I had planned to see this show right after the government re-opened, but when I went over to the Ripley, it wasn't up yet.  Obviously, they hadn't been able to get it in place before the shutdown, unlike the Sackler's yoga exhibit.

No matter, it's up now, and in a new, nicer space.  This show is a display of contest-winning art work by young artists with disabilities.  The idea behind the contest is to encourage these folks as they're deciding whether to make art their life work.  Not only do the award winners get to see their work exhibited in a traveling show (so to speak), but they also get a cash prize, made available by Volkswagen, which co-sponsors the contest.  The winners are on display at the Ripley every year, and I look forward to seeing what each year will bring in the way of new artists.  My thought is that, when one of them makes it REALLY big, I'll be able to say, "Oh yes, I saw his/her work years ago..."  Dare to dream, I always say, even if it's only about the success of other people.

In years past, it's been presented in the hallway leading from the concourse to the International Gallery.  It's a small show (there are 15 winners), so it doesn't require a lot of room, but the hallway isn't the most inviting space, and I think there just isn't much foot traffic there.  Frankly, there's not a lot of foot traffic at the Ripley period, so the show needs all the help it can get.  This year, it was in the main concourse itself, which is far better.  There's much more room, so each artist's work has plenty of display area.  You don't have everything displayed practically each on top of the other, and it's easier to evaluate each artist separately.  I know that displaying paintings one on top of the other is a legitimate style, but I just don't care for it.  It just seems too higgledy-piggledy to me.  So sue me, I'm not a fan of salon display.

The one criticism I would make is that the plaques describing the work and giving some details about the artist are placed very low.  Even someone as short as I am had to stoop to read them.  I kept thinking the whole time that I wished they were higher on the wall.  Someone tall would be quite uncomfortable, I think.

The stories of the artists and how they've overcome their disabilities, or used them to express their artistic talent is quite amazing.  One person in particular, Emilie Gossiaux, was diagnosed with severe hearing loss at age 5, then lost her sight in a bicycle accident when she was in college.  I couldn't blame her if she'd just given up her artwork at that point, but she's still creating.  Her sculpture, Bird Sitting was lovely; I was shocked when I read that she is blind.  It's a small white clay piece; the wings look like hands, so it's a portrait of a bird and of a person.   It was my favorite piece in the show.

The other item that really caught my eye was one by a dyslexic artist, Madalyne Hymans.  It's about her dyslexia and people's (boneheaded) responses to it.  It's a large rectangle, with quotes from various teachers, fellow students, and others with whom she's interacted, about dyslexia and how it means she's stupid or lazy.  Her artwork clearly proves them wrong, and I wish her well in her career.  Doesn't the quote go, "Living well is the best revenge"?  I hope it proves true for her.

Verdict:  Well worth a visit, as usual with this show.  The new setting does much more justice to the artists' work than the hallway!

Sustaining/Creating: A National Juried Exhibition for Emerging Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25

Where: Ripley Center

When: through January 13, 2013

This is the 11th exhibition of the winners in this contest for young artists with disabilities; I've seen it twice before.  It's very interesting to see artists in the beginning of their careers - you can appreciate what you're seeing now, and keep an eye out for them to see what they'll create in the future.  I guess you could compare it to buying a baseball player's rookie card.

The theme of this year's exhibit is sustainability and contemporary creativity.  The artists were asked to bring innovative viewpoints to these subjects.  I confess, if I'd been asked to create a work of art with this as my theme, I would have been stumped.  Luckily for we museum goers, these young people have risen to the occasion.  One of the pieces that caught my eye was Copper 2 by Jacob Brown (he's 20 and suffers from spastic cerebral palsy).  It's an abstract (bet you didn't see that coming - me, liking an abstract!) that features great greens and blues with copper accents.  Another of my favorites was Restoring the Sublime by Leland Foster (he's 21 and has Crohn's Disease).  It's a painting of a boy painting a forest scene over a concrete wall.  There's something Norman Rockwell-esque about it, which one doesn't expect from a young artist.

Verdict: Don't miss this small show - it's in the corridor leading to the International Gallery.  Very manageable in a lunch hour and a great way to see what young artists are doing.

Momentum: A National Juried Exhibition for Emerging Artists with Disabilities, Ages 16-25

Where: Ripley Center

When: through January 22, 2012

I'm pretty sure this is the third time I've seen this annual exhibit.  It's meant to encourage artists with disabilities at a time when they are deciding whether or not to make the arts their career.  I'm impressed by their talents, and when you read about what they struggle with on a daily basis, their work is just that much more impressive.

This year's theme is the creative spark, the force that drives their artistic interest.  I'm not entirely sure that each piece necessarily conveyed the answer to that question ("What is it that drives you to create?"), but I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

The piece that most caught my attention was "Skateboarding Geisha" by Jansen Smith.  Really, how could you not want to look at a piece called Skateboarding Geisha?  Smith suffers from cerebral palsy that affects his right hand.  He makes prints, and he makes them first with his left hand and then with his right, to show the difference the disease makes on his coordination.  I didn't see a vast deal of difference between the two prints, but I was greatly taken with the idea and the picture.

Another artist, Xi Nan, who works with ceramics, was quoted, “I have learned to be strong and perseverant in the journey of making my art works; no risk, no miracle.”  I love that sentiment: no risk, no miracle.  I'm going to make it my  motto for 2012.

Verdict: This small show is great for a lunchtime excursion.