DCist Studio Visit: Art Enables
Upon seeing the work of the Art Enables’ artists at Artomatic both last year and this year, our curiosity was piqued. The nonprofit art space labels their work “outsider art inside the beltway,” and they insist that they are not a school for disabled artists, but part outsider art studio and part employment program. The 27 artists work full days at the studio one to four times per week—honing their skills, experimenting with new ideas, and enjoying the camaraderie among their fellow artists.
While Art Enables’ staff is there to motivate, encourage and find reference materials for the artists, their responsibilities mainly lie in promoting the artists’ work and outsider art in general by organizing exhibits and managing the organization. Additionally, Art Director Stefan Bauschmid and the rest of the staff serve as the artists’ jury—when an artist feels a piece is complete, he or she places it in the “Finished” folder, from which the staff selects the most successful pieces to be framed and matted for sale and display.
Currently, over 30 framed works hang throughout the studio, along with three shelves of painted birdhouses, flower pots and shelf animals, and two full racks of matted, unframed pieces. Each artist’s uniqueness is exhibited through their use of materials, distinct style, and choice of subject matter. Many of the artists employ Sharpie markers, watercolor, oil pastel and acrylic, often outlining key images in marker before adding color. While the strokes are harsh and deliberate in some artists’ work, others, such as The Playroom by Egbert Clem Evans, use more freeform lines.
Margie Smeller often paints and writes about her dreams and fantasies, as in Dreams I Dreamed (pictured above) and The Water Elephant. In the former, she depicts three images of herself, repeatedly outlined. She appears dressed as a bride, in a pink dress, and as a nun, with accompanying words describing the images, including “I had an beautiful dream to be Maggie Smith. O’thee nun.” In The Water Elephant, the foreground contains a large image of a white elephant, with pink ears and head ornaments, standing on a large yellow block. The text in the sky surrounding the elephant starts, “I made myself a snowball as perfect as could be. Then last night it ran away.” The text winds around the painting, often leaving the viewer unsure of the direction of the narrative. In one area, it also reads, “But first it wet the bed,” and in another, “I thought I’d keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me. I made it some pajamas. And a pillow for its head.” Like many of the other artists at Art Enables, Smeller’s work is awe-strikingly free of self-judgment, self-censorship and pretension, and incredibly refreshing.
Much of the best visual art lets the viewer inside the world of the artist, and the work at Art Enables is no exception. In addition to Smeller, John Simpson's work, such as House of Blues (pictured right), reveals a natural affinity for architecture, with many of his skilled watercolor and ink paintings highlighting D.C. neighborhoods. Raul Gormley will proudly tell you his family is from Peru, and each day, he draws the letters of his country in varying styles, and expresses his passion for music, family and culture through his art, often painting images of musical instruments.
Likewise, Charles Meissner is an expert at landscapes, and his hard-to-resist work often illustrates complex connections with various locations. In Point of Rocks and Brunswick, he describes the flowing green and yellow nature scene, stating “The Area of Point of Rocks and Brunswick, where Toni Morgan moved until she moved to Columbia in 2005,” and continues to describe other associated memories, including the site of his brother auctioning cars, meeting “a good-looking dark-haired woman,” and how the music of “Robert Knight and Johnny Corley … made me revolt.”
Two of Meissner’s other images in the exhibit induced such giddiness that a purchase was required: The Status Game (pictured left) and Status Moves to the Burbs. These two brilliant pieces depict the same suit-adorned man and woman, similarly drawn and placed in two settings—first, amidst the backdrop of Georgetown streets, and second, surrounded by trees in the ‘burbs, both jam-packed with green cars—and accompanied by Meissner’s matter-of-fact scene descriptions.
Art Enables is exhibiting on the 4th floor of Artomatic until June 15. Additionally, on June 14 from 2 to 6 p.m., they will be holding a fundraiser picnic at Chesapeake Bed and Breakfast, whose owners are major collectors of outsider and folk art. Guests will be able to view the collection, enjoy the natural surroundings, and eat their fill of Mexican-American specialties. Tickets cost $25; click here for the PDF invite.
Images of Margie Smeller's Dreams I Dreamed, John Simpson's House of Blues, and Charles Meissner's The Status Game courtesy of Art Enables.
Art Enables is located at 411 New York Ave., NE, and the studio is open for visitors Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or by appointment.