Fountain Gallery Presents Out of This World- A Group Exhibition, Opens 2/4

Fountain Gallery, the premier venue in New York City representing artists with mental illness, located at 702 Ninth Avenue, today announced the upcoming opening of Out of This World, a group exhibition showcasing works in the genre known as Outsider Art. The show will be on view from February 4 through March 16, 2011, with an Opening Reception on February 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. Works by Fountain Gallery artists will also be displayed for sale at Booth 24 of the Outsider Art Fair, February 11-13, at 7W, 7 West 34th Street, in New York City. A Preview on February 10 will benefit Fountain Gallery and also Creative Growth Art Center (Oakland, CA), which promotes adult artists with developmental, mental, and physical disabilities.

"Outsider Art, once an underground phenomenon classified under the umbrella of folk art, has emerged as a significant force in the art market," said Jason Bowman, Director of Fountain Gallery. "It brings a new aesthetic and includes work by people with mental illness and other disabilities, who now have greater opportunities for their work to be seen by the mainstream art world," continued Bowman. "We present such work at Fountain Gallery, and the Outsider Art Fair enables us to bring it to an international audience," concluded Bowman.

Out of This World and the Fountain Gallery booth at the Outsider Art Fair will spotlight works in a variety of mediums by Gallery artists, including:
Keith Pavia, who considers many of his works stories outside of a conventional structure, in which various recurring characters partake in an abstract or surrealistic narrative; Gary Brent Hilsen, whose paint application technique lends his bold, sensuous acrylic paintings the texture of watercolor and oil; and BSpin, who has used colored marker on paper to create her whimsical figurative
Nude Instrument series.

Out of This World is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York
City Department of Cultural Affairs, and by generous support from The Jarvis and
Constance Doctorow Family Foundation and The Renate, Hans and Maria
Hofmann Trust.

About Fountain Gallery
Founded by Fountain House in 2000 as a not-for-profit exhibition space for artists living and working with mental illness, the Gallery sells original artworks and collaborates with a wide network of artists, curators and cultural institutions. Embracing artists who are emerging or established, trained or self-taught, Fountain Gallery cultivates artistic growth and makes a vital contribution to the New York arts community.

Selected works from Out of This World may be viewed at:
http://fountaingallerynyc.com/Shows-Detail.cfm?ShowsID=188.

For information about Fountain House: www.fountainhouse.org.

Fountain Gallery
702 Ninth Avenue at 48th Street
NYC 10019
212.262.2756
Hours: Tues.-Sat. 11-7; Sun. 1-5
www.fountaingallerynyc.com
More than a gallery. A movement.

19th Annual Outsider Art Fair
at 7W
7 West 34th Street
February 11-13, 2011
Preview: Thursday, February 10
www.sanfordsmith.com