The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art will host Outsiders on the Inside: Contemporary Folk Art in the Permanent Collection, a new exhibition on view Feb. 5–April 30 in the Chi Omega-Hargis Gallery. Several Alabama natives including Bernice Sims, Jimmy Lee Sudduth and Mose Tolliver are represented in the exhibition.

Outsiders on the Inside delves into the evocative world of contemporary folk art. Art of this nature has gained wide attention by museums and collectors in recent years, but scholars and critics have yet to agree on a term that accurately describes its diversity.

               “Outsider, visionary, self-taught and vernacular are just a few of the most common labels placed upon the artists and their varied work,” explains museum curator Dennis Harper. “These self-directed artists share important characteristics with their mainstream or academically trained contemporaries. Each creates work that is inventive, thought provoking and highly personal.”

               The exhibition examines the range of artistic expression by these so-called Outsiders, featuring paintings, drawings and watercolors from the museum’s permanent collection. Created by well-known and emerging artists, their subjects range from historical figures and cultural icons, to religious scenes and personal visions.

For more information on this exhibition, please visit jcsm.auburn.edu or call 334-844-1484.