When I think about these words by Jeanette Winterson, I can't help but think of the work of the outsider artist. The term ‘outsider art’ was coined in 1972 as an English equivalent of the French term ‘art brut’, which literally translated means raw art. It basically refers to unrestrained artwork created by self-taught, fringe dwellers such as folk artists, the mentally ill, the incarcerated, the recluse and the eccentric. In other words, artwork created by those unbound by the cultural norm. Because such artists are removed from cultural and academic standards, it is believed that a purely creative impulse motivates and drives their work. Canonized artists seeking a new, raw form of expression beyond the academicism of western tradition like Picasso, Klee, Matisse, Miro & Dubuffet developed a keen interest in this impulsive form of art making. They collected the work of outsider artists & used their imagery as a source of inspiration for their own art. Check out the relationship below between ‘Totem’ by outsider artist Gaston Chaissac (left) & ‘Figure’ by Pablo Picasso (right).

Contemporary artists such as TWFA's Chris Retsina still draw inspiration from outsider art - See below 'Ghon Fucci #3' by Chris Retsina. There is a raw quality to this type of work that is engaging and confronting on a primal level. In these cases, what may appear clumsy or untrained is actually a deliberate neglect of academic technique and a disregard for the norm or the expected, a pursuit of creative freedom. The practice of the outsider artist is essentially rebellious and pure, with an innocence that is very compelling if you rid yourself of expectation and see beauty in aesthetic relationships beyond the cultural norm. Let's be honest, we all strive to be different, free, and Outsider Art is an uncontrived realization of this ambition.  

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The art market is quite literally a market place, where investors buy and sell artworks with profit as their motive. For an art lover, it is somewhat strange for me to think art about it this way, but I understand how the market works and appreciate that when you are spending an extraordinary amount of money on something, you'd like to think that it will hold it's value or even better, appreciate in value over time. Collecting takes a keen eye and an understanding of the artists place in societies present discourse. Our team wants to take the guess work out of collecting - by working with legendary & innovative contemporary artists, we offer an authentic collecting experience for first time buyers and collectors alike. Most well known (for now at least) from our portfolio is Michael Goldberg (1924-2007). Goldberg was a generation younger than the core group of New York School painters--Rothko, Pollock, de Kooning - and while he was frequently classified as a second-generation member of this illustrious group, this designation referred more to the artist's age than the quality of his paintings. Goldberg's ouevre is characterized by only one constant: nimble, improvisational reinvention. While he remained deeply committed to abstraction, over the course of his long career -from the 1940s until his death in 2007 - Goldberg reconceptualized the visual, aesthetic and material boundaries of abstract painting. Over the past 5 years, Goldberg's work has been selling for record prices at auction. In 2008 an Untitled piece from 1956 (above left) sold for a whopping $208,000 USD at Christies in NYC. That same year, The Keep - painted in 1958 (above right) sold for $183,000 USD. Our creative team originated in New York City and comprises of artists, critics, historians and academics with a common love of all things art, and a passion to make art accessible to everyone. We have been able to work with the Estate's of artists like Michael Goldberg and others who love art and who would like their work to be available to people with a more modest budget. Our pieces are for those of us who are interested in buying art that not only speaks to them, but art that will be a worthwhile investment for the future.  

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For those of you fluent in Spanish - this ones for you. Mariana Tocornal's gorgeous sculptures, photographed by Veronica Ibanez Romagnoli are featured in the recent edition of Arte Global Allimite. To view & buy limited edition prints of the featured work, visit our online gallery - Mariana Tocornal            

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I stumbled across this amazing painting by Jules Breton one day while in the Met and was absolutely mesmerized by it. The quality of light is unlike anything I've ever seen, not even in a Turner. Breton painted the piece in French countryside in 1868. He described this twilight scene of peasants pulling up thistles and weeds in his autobiography —"their faces haloed by the pink transparency of their violet hoods, as if to venerate a fecundating star". Hung in quite a dim space, the painting lights the room from within and you can almost smell the late afternoon air. Do yourself a favor and find this painting on your next visit - Metropolitan Museum of Art - Gallery # 802.  

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Built in 1884, 222 Bowery in SoHo was New York City’s original YMCA, complete with an indoor swimming pool and basketball court. TWFA artist Michael Goldberg was one of the legendary tenants who called this landmarked building home before his death in 2007. Goldberg inherited the space from the infamous abstract expressionist Mark  Rothko - whose red paint from the Four Season's commissions still smears the studio floor. William S Burroughs also called 222 home and artists Lynda Benglis, Lynn Umlauf and John Giorno still have studios in the building. Cavernous spaces like those within 222 Bowery are becoming things of the past as New York City evolves. Buildings like 222 Bowery that preserve the history of the city and its artists, are sadly being renovated and the studios replaced with luxury condos. Progress will be progress, and I wanted to share some photographs of Mike's studio at 222 Bowery with you, since it too, has been scheduled for renovation.      

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