Johann Garber

This frenetic drawing features dynamic mark making, words in English and German, and abstract and figurative motifs. Known as art brut or outsider art, this style is framed as “intuitive,” and its practitioners typically are celebrated for their lack of formal training. While we should critically consider who and when an artist is labeled an “outsider,” this aesthetic has had a major impact on contemporary art.

Institutionalized in 1968, Austrian artist Johann Garber later became part of the Haus der Künstler (House of Artists), a group of artists with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. By copying Albrecht Dürer and others, Garber developed his own aesthetic, of which this drawing is an excellent example.