According to Jerry Saltz, the down-to-earth Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic, for his money, The New York Outsider Art Fair is the BEST art fair in the world. It is happening this weekend in New York City. Go!
The 2025 Outsider Art Fair is the place to be for anyone who loves to discover new and unusual creations from what is referred to as “untrained,” “self-taught,” or “art brut” artists. Here, you will see the work of makers that create from a place of deep emotional drive and not because of commercial or career aspirations. The fair “...embraces art from the fringes,” said Andrew Edlin, the fair’s owner. The word fringe can replace some of the more controversial explanations used to categorize what many of the stakeholders in the art world clash over when it comes to trying to pinpoint this genre. Regardless, call it what you want; visionary or genius, untrained, self-taught, naïve. Just know you will love what you see, what you learn, what you hear, and the whole experience of this art fair.
Some artists have been discovered after their death, usually because they were never making art for commercial consumption and worked alone, not for an agent, gallery, or exhibition. Such is the story of Abraham Lincoln Walker, featured at the fair this year. Lincoln's treasure trove of fantasmagoric paintings were brought to the attention of a St. Louis art dealer just last year by the artist's son, Link, thirty years after his father's death. The work is on display at Andrew Edlin’s booth and is a must see.
- Lisa Bauso