So much has happened! We had a fantastic time in New York at the Outsider Art Fair in January this year. It was a wonderfully eclectic show, but Just Folk’s booth focused on Bill Traylor. We were fortunate to sell four of his works, three to new buyers. The awareness of Bill Traylor’s art has been enhanced by the incredible show at the Smithsonian American Museum in Washington. Curated by the inspired Leslie Umberger, the show was incredibly mounted and showcased 150 works that Traylor created between the ages of 83-85 years old! It is terrific that his work is finally getting recognition. There was a wonderful piece on CBS Sunday Morning that aired April 7th and featured the Smithsonian show through an interview with Leslie. I’m sure it’s available online and I can’t recommend it more highly. Jeffrey Wolf has also made a magnificent film on Traylor that was shown at the opening in Washington. He is entering it in festivals, so keep an eye out for Chasing Ghosts. Please be sure to check out our Traylor section on this site under Outsider and Self Taught. We have sold so many postcard books and posters through Amazon due to this heightened awareness of Bill Traylor’s work.
On another subject, I am finally learning how to blog and send out our newsletter, as well post on social media. It’s time I entered the world of modern communication, so look for more of our works online. Now that we have closed the gallery in Summerland, many people think we are no longer active. It isn’t so! We have our entire inventory in Los Angeles, available to view if buyers are interested. Everything we have is on the website, and I have received numerous inquiries about many pieces, and sold quite a bit. But I am amping up the visibility so that collectors are aware of the wonderful pieces we have.
We have also collaborated with other galleries to get the news out about our artists. We had a show at The Good Luck Gallery which featured Elijah Pierce and LeRoy Almon and had a good lecture on African American Art organized by Paige Wery to heighten awareness. We have recently sent five pieces, two by Bill Traylor, two by Thornton Dial, and one by James Castle, to Seoul, Korea for an exhibition. The international interest in Self-Taught artists is growing, and the Asian market is a fascinating place to expand our visibility.
Keep an eye on this blog because I will be updating it more often. Feel free to write on it, or contact me at [email protected] with any inquiries and comments. Happy Spring!
