The Art of Brut – The Gallery of Everything, London

A review of the Gallery of Everything’s companion exhibition to the Barbican’s Dubuffet retrospective: The Art of Brut. A great selection of artworks, but it could go further in what it is adding to the larger exhibition.

The Art of Brut

Shortly after visiting Jean Dubuffet: Brutal Beauty at the Barbican, I received an email from the Gallery of Everything. They were announcing their companion exhibition, The Art of Brut. You may remember from when I saw the Gallery of Everything’s exhibition of works by Sister Gertrude Morgan that they specialise in art brut (which can also be called naive art, outsider art etc.). So what better place to further explore Dubuffet’s interest in art produced outside of the artistic establishment?

The Art of Brut focuses on the artists who were, in the Gallery of Everything’s words, “examined, investigated, collected and exhibited by Jean Dubuffet and La Compagnie de l’Art Brut in the 1940s.” There are some big names within the outsider art world, like Augustin Lesage, Adolf Wölfli and Aloïse Corbaz. Even visitors who are new to this genre but have seen the Dubuffet exhibition will start to recognise the idiosyncratic style of each artist.

A Companion Exhibition?

The Art of Brut has a great selection of works. And, as with Sister Gertrude Morgan, the former barber shop seems like the ideal location to display them. As you arrive at the Gallery, you are given a handout with biographies of the artists. And there is no doubting that, compared to the Barbican where these artists are supplementary, here they are the centre of attention.

However, I would have loved to see the Gallery of Everything make a little more of the connection to the Barbican’s Dubuffet show. If this is truly a companion exhibition, then what is it telling us that we couldn’t learn there? On the other hand, maybe my expectations are not aligned with what this show was trying to achieve; and I should have just leaned into enjoying the artworks themselves.

For those who haven’t yet made it to the Gallery of Everything, this is a great opportunity. The Art of Brut is a good introduction into some of the big names and themes of outsider art. And learning more about outsider art as understood and promoted by Jean Dubuffet, one of its earliest champions, cannot be a bad thing.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5

The Art of Brut on until 25 July 2021

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