clay creatures are highlighted at 2023 outsider art fair | The art newspaper

Carlie Porterfield highlights artists from the 31st Outsider Art Fair in New York, in The Art Newspaper in March 2023. Ceramic artist Shinichi Sawada features in their round up, with an excerpt below and the full article through the link at the bottom. The piece also flagged Sawada’s solo exhibition that was on concurrently at James Cohan Gallery in New York.

“Japanese sculptor Shinichi Sawada’s anthropomorphic creatures attracted attention at Jennifer Lauren Gallery’s stand during the fair’s VIP viewing. Sawada, who has autism and is non-verbal, has never specified what inspires his sculptures, though many of them resemble images from Japanese mythology and there is speculation that some of the more animal-like figures may have been based on the wildlife—like frogs—Sawada sees during his walks to the rural studio he works from several times a week. Sawada’s second US solo exhibition will open Saturday (4 March) at Manhattan’s James Cohan Gallery; his sculptures figured prominently in the central exhibition of the 2013 Venice Biennale, curated by Massimiliano Gioni.”