What you need to knowThe Wellcome Collection's major new Spring exhibition, Souzou: Outsider Art from Japan, features more than 300 artworks, including drawing, painting, sculpture and textiles by 46 Japanese artists.
'Outsider art' refers to work made by self-taught artists often living on the margins of society, while 'souzou' is a Japanese term combining the idea of creation and imagination. The art in this show has been selected in collaboration with the Museum of Psychiatry in Haarlem (the Netherlands) and the Social Welfare Organisation Aiseikai (Tokyo). The artists have mostly been diagnosed with learning or behavioural disorders.
The show also features a series of documentary films about the exhibiting artists. Runs until 30 June.
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What the critics likeThe sheer diversity of mediums on show in Souzou and the obvious pleasure in making them is striking, says Charlotte Simmonds in the New Statesman. The work, chaotic, cluttered, beautiful and strange, "simply has to be seen". But what makes this show brilliant is the questions it raises about art.
Souzou brings together a colourful, energetic collection of works, says Melanie Weaver on The Upcoming. The concept has been well thought through, and the stories of the artists are fascinating and inspiring, making this different and innovative show well worth a visit.
These artists have created a vastly diverse body of works that raise important questions about outsider art, says Bethan Troakes on One Stop Arts. There are enthralling works created with unusual media and at-times obsessive detail. "Not to be missed."
What they don't likeThe art in Souzou ranges in quality from decidedly average to intricate and ingenious, says Tabish Khan on Londonist. The exhibition has a very loose narrative, and doesn't explicitly discuss how we should judge the work alongside mainstream art. "Some visitors will feel liberated, others perhaps unfulfilled by this approach."
