To hear George and Sue Viener talk about their eyes, you’d think they were ophthalmologists.

Together, they have been looking keenly in the same direction for most of their lives. Their focus? American outsider, or self-taught art.

They became collectors and dealers of this uniquely American art form not because they themselves are artists, but because they acquired an eye for it. They learned to see.

The folk art-collecting bug first bit them in 1970 when they visited the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Museum in Williamsburg, Va.

George, a former textile executive, started honing his gathering skills with cigar-store Indians. At one point, George and Sue had 13 of them in their house.

Someone told them some 40 years ago, “Get your eye you’ll see what you’re looking for.”

Their eyes have been focusing ever since.

In 1986, the Vieners met Chuck and Jan Rosenak in Santa Fe, N.M., and their collecting vision sharpened.

“Our eye was ready to see this art,” George said.

Their gallery in the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, the Outsider Folk Art Gallery, has been the center of “this art,” a peculiar kind of creativity that New York Times art critic Karen Rosenberg calls “a personal compulsion to make art, without a rule book and with whatever materials happen to be at hand.”

Over the decades, the Vieners collected artists as well as art. They’re a walking two-volume encyclopedia of outsider art.

“The hunt is more than half the fun,” George said.

They have met or collected art by such luminaries as Hattie Brunner, June and Walter Gottshall, Sterling Strauser, Jim Bloom, Thornton Dial and many others.

“The outsiders are so friendly,” Sue said. “We’ve made some of our best friends through folk art.”

She had to admit, though, that it’s not to everyone’s taste.

“Some people hate it,” she said.

Without skipping a beat, George responded: “Hate is a very close emotion to love.”

Pennsylvania artist Sterling Strauser (1907-1995), a champion of self-taught artists, was an especially close friend even though they met him just five years before he died in 1995.

Decades on, they are getting ready for the next phase of their lives: retirement.

Pieces of art leaned against the walls of their Reading home as George led a tour of their house-sized gallery, waiting for movers to take the pieces to Leesburg, Va., where the Vieners will move for the first time in more than 40 years.

Even the laundry room bore the stamp of these indefatigable collectors: a small display of sculptured work graced a corner that would have gone unnoticed otherwise.

Meanwhile, the Outsider Folk Art Gallery, which the Vieners have operated since the GoggleWorks opened in 2005, also shows signs of an era ending. Although it will close Sunday, they will keep a hand in buying and selling outsider art on 1stdibs.com, “The most beautiful things on earth.” Several auction houses are handling their vast collection and a local warehouse will contain some of their treasures.

The Vieners reflected on their 43 years on Rockland Street, in the house that seems to go on forever and to be especially suited to these collectors. They also looked forward.

“It will be hard to leave the community,” Sue said.

“Everything in life is a new challenge,” George said in counterpoint.

As the tour of the house ended and George’s attention had to return to the business of moving, he passed a few more paintings leaning against a wall, one of them a portrait of a young girl. It was Sterling Strauser’s daughter, Jill.

George smiled.

“To me, artists are the most heroic people in the world,” he said. “They’re putting it out there.”

Contact John Fidler: 610-371-5054 or jfidler@readingeagle.com.

01.20.2012 Eblast! | Gallery Artist Spotlight | Outsider Art Fair: Programs Announced!.

Program Lineup for 2012 OAF David “Big Dutch” Nally David “Big Dutch” Nally | Not So Much, 2012 Mixed Media on Canvas, 34″ x 32″, $1800.00 Love, Loss, Good Times and G(h)oasts have inhabited the work of David “Big Dutch” Nally since we met him in early 1991 at Freedman Gallery, Albright College. Nally’s re-accuring themes and rants about current events create artwork that captures memory and nostaglia in a lyrical and colorful array. Join Nally and many of the artists of the Outsider Folk Art Gallery next week at the Outsider Art Fair, Booth #A3, 7W 34th, NYC January 27-29, 2012, VIP night January 26 Mark your calendars for amazing art from all over the globe! Joseph E. Yoakum Outsider Folk Art Gallery Booth-A3 Joseph E. Yoakum (1890-1972) | Mt. Magazine of Blue Range, 1969 Rare Vertical Piece, Ex. Janet Fleisher Gallery, Ink, Crayon, and pencil on paper 19″ x 12 1/4″, $25,000.00       Outsider Folk Art Gallery 201 Washington Street, Suite 504, Reading, PA 19601 Phone: (610)  939  1737 Website: www.outsiderfolkart.com Email: george@outsiderfolkart.com

01.13.2012 Eblast! | NYC in January | Gallery Artist Spotlight | Outsider Art Fair News.

January in NYC As Americana Week(s) are set to begin in a few days, we can’t help but get excited about all that is going on this month in NYC. We just got back last week from the amazing and intense deKooning Retropective and Diego Rivera Mural Exhibition at MoMA. We took a side trip to PS1 to check out some Emerging & Contemporary Art as well as soaking up some sky at James Turrell’s ongoing piece “Meeting” (below). After packing up our art for the Outsider Art Fair next week, we are treating ourselves to a visit to The Metro Show, including booth talks by Allan Katz, Ricco Maresca, and a walking tour with James Brett (Museum of Everything). We will be thrilled to visit Luise Ross Gallery for the Jose Rivera Exhibit and the opening reception of Dubuffet and Art Brut at Ricco Maresca. Can’t wait to see everyone in NYC! Aloïse! Aloïse! Aloïse! Double sided work by Aloïse Corbaz (1886-1964), said Aloïse, 2nd period: 1924-1941 Face 1: Aristoloches Face 2: Main de Prométhée colored pencils and black pencil on paper (two double sheets of a book of drawing) Ex. André Breton, gift by Jean Dubuffet, 1947/1948, 19 1/4″ x 25 7/8″, P.O.R. ( click image to redirect and see Face 2 and full provenance) We are happy to announce that this lovely example will be featured in the catalog raisonné which will be published online at Fondation Aloïse by the end of April 2012 for the exhibition “Aloïse: The turn solar” taking place at the at the Collection de l’Art Brut from June-October 2012 and June-August 2012 at the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts. January 27-29, 2012, VIP night January 26 Mark your calendars for amazing art from all over the globe! Outsider Folk Art Gallery Booth-A3 Harriet Wiseman | Family Portrait 19″ x 17 1/2″, framed, $3500.00 Harriet starts her work by blindly putting oils on a blank canvas, waiting for the canvas to reveal what is locked inside. She slips into an almost trance-like state and then throws herself into her work. She has no idea when she begins, what the end result will be. Most of the women and girls in the paintings have the familiar olive-shaped mouth and triangular-shaped face of the artist. Comparisons are always made with the great artists, whether they were trained or self-taught. Sometimes, the elegant forms of Modigliani or the screaming compelling colors of Soutine can be suggested in Harriet’s work. Like many self-taught artists, The paintings are honest and passionate – perhaps reminiscent of German Expressionism with tenderness and feeling. In her work there is a colorful patterning of clothing, drapery and fabrics, which make the paintings lively and almost fly off the canvas.       Outsider Folk Art Gallery 201 Washington Street, Suite 504, Reading, PA 19601 Phone: (610)  939  1737 Website: www.outsiderfolkart.com Email: george@outsiderfolkart.com

12.30.2011 Eblast! End of the Year wrap-up | Gallery Artist Spotlight | Outsider Art Fair Artist News.

We would like to thank all of our friends & the Goggleworks Center for the Arts for all of their support during this eventful year. We look forward to continuing our journey and wish everyone a safe and jubilant celebration as we end 2011. Please note both the gallery and Goggleworks will be closed January 1, 2012. ___________________________________________________ Artist Edward Kingsbury III Ed’s Artwork is available at the gallery and can also be seen at PEROGI Flat Files, Brooklyn & The Drawing Center, NYC Fronmistago, 2009, Ink on Rag Paper, 11″ x 8″, $400.00 Edward A Kingsbury III is an intuitive artist who expresses himself to find new imagery to portray his interpretation of life.  The works are a peaceful and meditative focus.  Life consists of many restrictions and boundaries art is the medium where Edward finds freedom.  Edward believes that the continual exploration of intuitive movements helps the mind have greater exploration of life. When viewed in person one cannot help but appreciate the dedication and craft to produce such quality pieces of original art. See his work at the Outsider Art Fair, NYC! ___________________________________________________________ January 27-29, 2012, VIP night January 26 Mark your calendars for amazing art from all over the globe! Outsider Folk Art Gallery Booth-A3 White Guitar, acrylic and collage on paper, 27″ x 19 1/2″, $700.00  Daniel ‘Dan’ Casado is a self-taught artist, born in Argentina in 1956. He has been iving in Spain since 1980, with a home-studio on the island of El Hierro, Canary Islands. Dan’s work is a precise collage of lightweight layers of paper combined to tell a whimsical story.       Outsider Folk Art Gallery 201 Washington Street, Suite 504, Reading, PA 19601 Phone: (610)  939  1737 Website: www.outsiderfolkart.com Email: george@outsiderfolkart.com

Works of Bloom, Young a good pairing at Outsider Folk Art Gallery

12.16.2011 Eblast! Happy Holidays Edition | Last minute deals and steals | Outsider Art Fair News

Happy Holidays! We would like to thank all of our friends for all of their support during this eventful year. We could not have done it with out knowing your passion for self-taught and folk art! Anonymous Weathervane | Found in Maine in the 70′s Dry Weathered Surface |19 1/2″ x 26″ | $3000. We look forward to continuing our journey and wish everyone a safe and jubilant celebration as we end 2011. ___________________________________________________ Colorful Gifts for your Loved Ones! In addition to her colorful works on paper, we have a limited amount of ornaments on wood and felt by our own Sybil Roe Thompson. They make great hostess gifts and elevate your spirit! ___________________________________________________________ January 27-29, 2012, VIP night January 26 Mark your calendars for amazing art from all over the globe! Outsider Folk Art Gallery Booth-A3 Featured Artist Christine Boisseau aka Boistine was born in France (Paris) in 1962. Keen on all sorts of manual creations, she had to wait for a long time before having the opportunity to totally devote herself to creation. She is strongly attracted by carving. Almost all sorts of materials are used with an inclination for natural ones: wood, loam, bones, feathers … Her work is exhibited in many galleries in France and Europe. She also participates to art fairs dedicated to raw art as the Biennale Internationale de Lyon. As she explains, her soul speaks through her hands: “When I start a painting or a carving, moved by an impulsion, I feel like being in a space full of freedom and possible surprises. There is in my mind the idea of mixing my feelings with all the materials I may find around me. I am found of new experiences. I feel satisfied and happy when I see partners in the eyes of those who are looking at my creations.” Watch 1stDibs and our Website next week for items from Christine       Outsider Folk Art Gallery 201 Washington Street, Suite 504, Reading, PA 19601 Phone:(610) 939.1737 Website: www.outsiderfolkart.com Email: george@outsiderfolkart.com