The Outsider Who Came In (And Wants To Get Out Again)

What is outsider art? “It is eccentric, engaging, and often apocalyptic. It stands outside the standard schools and movements, and is produced by artists who are usually self-taught and often judged insane. It includes some of the most compelling, disturbing, and/or simply strange painting, sculpture, and even literature and music being produced today. Whatever outsider art might be, Joe Coleman is one of its biggest stars, with vivid paintings of riots, demons, serial killers, and sideshow geeks, all rendered in an instantly recognizable style. Yet New York’s annual Outsider Art Fair, has decided not to include him when it reopens its doors next month.” The problem? Coleman has been to art school, “thus removing him from the ranks of the self-taught.”