Return to Innocence

31.10.2024-

The Naives speak to us with vibrant colors, meticulous detail, and childlike perspective. They paint experiences, landscapes, animals, and people they remember, not what they are observing in real-time.  They “season” their memories of daily life in villages and urban neighborhoods, community celebrations, and the natural surroundings with nostalgic idealism, humor, and, personal appreciation. The viewer is drawn into the innocent world they create on canvas because it is so accessible and joyful.

You won’t find cynicism, academic composition, or abstract design in a naive painting.  Even the drama of conflict is most often missing (although some artists depict emotional turmoil). The amazing renderings of natural landscapes and the human interactions with them are wonderfully satisfying to the eye, constantly reminding us of the artists’ skills and talent. The recreation of cultural settings intimately experienced by the artists themselves serves to document for us a less familiar time and place.

The decision to paint the world as seen through naive eyes is not easy, nor a result of a childish lack of understanding or maturity. For many of our artists who have grown up and lived in poverty, and made their way in life under difficult circumstances sometimes including violence and war, the naive perspective is not to be taken for granted. These artists, as well as the more financially secure ones, guard their ability to see the world with an innocent optimism, an appreciation for the small blessings of life, and perhaps seek to awaken in us this same capacity.

Welcome to the world of naive art!