This article first appeared in the St. Lous Beacon, Nov. 8, 2010 - "Blindness Isn't Black" at the Gallery of the Regional Arts Commission features artworks by nine professional artists who have disabilities, and it's enthralling.
The artists -- Janice Atkins, David Kontra, Paul Arthur Lodes, Thomas Allen, Richard Meyers, Kimberly Ann Welker, Joshua Grimwood, Roulett Leflore and Margaret Jorgensen -- live with disabilities ranging from near blindness, to degenerative joint disease, to hearing impairment and mental illness, none of which has stopped them from investing amazing physical and intellectual energy into their art. In fact, it's likely due to their disabilities that the artists approach their practice with an intensity that practically radiates from the works.
- Jorgensen's and Welker's photographs reveal keen sensitivity to form and color.
- Atkins contemplates the miseries of dieting with humor and insight.
- Meyers' paintings concentrate on formal balance and color compositions with nods to David Hockney and Giorgio Morandi.
- Grimwood's Sharpie/Prismacolor works are bold, poster-style arrangements.
- Leflore and Kontra use impastoed surfaces and intense color, achieving forms reminiscent of early German Expressionists, while Allen's paintings are softened and more atmospheric in tone.
- Lodes' works, particularly the mixed media on paper, are brimming with heat and energy.
This exhibit stems from the excellent work achieved by the VSA Missouri, an agency dedicated to involving individuals with disabilities in the arts. The exhibition is curated by Leslie Holt, an established artist in her own right as well as VSA board president, and it is based on a 2009 publication of the same name that featured works by artists and writers with disabilities.
Ivy Cooper, a professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, is the Beacon art critic.