Twist and Crawl Art Show at NIAD Closes This Week

Shattering the conventions that have until now segregated artists with disabilities from their mainstream contemporaries, Twist and Crawl blends more than 30 works culled from artists and galleries across the country with those from the National Institute of Art and Disabilities studio program.

The show closes March 16.

Twist and Crawl is the first in a three-part exhibition series, Life of The World To Come, that presents a preview of a future where work from disabled artists is viewed in the same light as pieces and projects from artists who may not have a diagnosis extreme enough to qualify them as “other.” In reality, however, the show is not breaking new ground so much as making visible what is already underway. Artists with disabilities – from Willem De Kooning to Chuck Close – are already a part of the contemporary art world. But Close and De Kooning were already established before becoming disabled. The next logical step in the opening up of the contemporary art world would be the inclusion of artists with disabilities based on the quality of their work, but without the requirement of a prior pedigree.

Like the song by the 2 Tone band The English Beat, Twist and Crawl is a fusion of rhythmic paintings punctuated by aggressive sculptures and drawings. The exhibition features work from James Aarons (ceramics), Chris Ashley (painting), Elaine Bradford (sculpture), Mia Brown (painting), Timothy Buckwalter (drawing), Sharon Butler (painting), Willie Harris (painting), Cliff Hengst (painting), Shirley How (painting), Lacee King (sculpture), Katy Stone (sculpture), Danny Thach (sculpture), John Zurier (painting) and the late Edmund Shea (photography).

Life of The World To Come will continue with two more exhibitions. Darkness Fall Upon Us runs April 4 through June 3, 2011 with work from Bill Dunlap, Billy White, Brent Hallard, Cliff Hengst, Danny Thach, David Martin, Deatro Colbert, Eva Lake, Jim Winters, Kate Bingaman Burt , Kevin Randolph, Lisa Blevens, Martin Bromirski, Matthew Langley, Mike Monteiro, Rosita Pardo, Shirley Fragoso, Shirley Howe, Tim McFarlane, Vincent Villenueva and Willie Harris. Chase the Tear runs June 20 though August 19 with Chris Johanson, Dean Smith, Deana Pearson, Douglas Witmer, Jeffrey Cortland Jones, Jeremy Burleson, Lisa Solomon, Michele Pred, Mike Macfeat, Philip King, Rebecca Whipple, Rosita Pardo, Scott Hewicker, Shana Harper and Wendell Singleton.

Posted on behalf of Timothy Buckwalter