David Fuentes was born with cerebral palsy, his right side permanently crippled. Carol Es has multiple sclerosis and fights constant fatigue. Others cope with brain and spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, hearing and vision impairments, and a host of other debilitating conditions.
What they have in common is their art – a tribute not only to their technical skills, but to their ability to reach beyond their limitations and tap into their creative selves.
Works in a variety of media by Fuentes, Es and 16 other artists from across the country are on view in Dyson Hall on the first floor of the Nott Memorial through Jan. 27.
“Selections from the 7th Annual Sunnyview Exhibition for Artists with Disabilities” was curated by Mandeville Gallery Director Rachel Seligman and Kara Jefts, exhibitions assistant.
“This show represents an impressive cross section of artists living with disabilities,” said Jefts. “In the face of physical and mental limitations, the artists describe their work as an inspiration and a relief to the challenges and pain they face on a daily basis.”
The 18 pieces in the Union exhibit were culled from more than 80 works of art recently shown at the Viewpoint Gallery at Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital in Schenectady as part of the 7th National Acquisitions Exhibition for Artists with Disabilities.
Printmaker Fuentes, from Corpus Christi, Texas, whose “Fall of Troy” won a Juror’s Choice Award, notes in his artist statement that he has been making art since he was a child. “I have embraced my problems as gifts and made them the fuel to tell my story,” he wrote.
Es’ work, “Cosmoses,” was designated Best in Show. “I find that art is a way to fight many of my ailments and keep me going,” writes Es, of San Pedro, Calif., who was diagnosed with MS in 1999. “I see art as an argument for reality. Sometimes it’s a document, or evidence of having to find resolution to what goes wrong with my body.”
Ruth Hall Daly, who organizes the Viewpoints Gallery show each year, writes that “The artists, from self-taught through to the educated professional, beautifully articulate many aspects of the human condition… Whether a work of art is executed by an artist whose method is to clench a paintbrush between his/her teeth or shoot a camera from a wheelchair, it is obvious… that the substance of creative intent, thought and process doesn’t not diminish with disability.”
A reception for “Selections” will be held at the Nott in conjunction with Art Night Schenectady, Friday, Jan. 18, 5-9 p.m.