January 16 – March 30, 2025 Make or Break: Creativity as an Act of Survival

What defines a work of art–or an artist? Should an artist’s biography inform perceptions of their art? These are some of the questions the pieces featured in this exhibition raise. Produced by sixteen 20th- and 21st-century incarcerated or otherwise institutionalized artists, the selected examples convey how artmaking can be used as a powerful means to reclaim freedom and affirm humanity. The works are as diverse as the people who created them–they resist categorization and challenge divisions and labels in the art world. They also underscore the scope of these figures’ exceptional achievements in spite of the harsh circumstances and inequities they faced. Highlighted as well is the importance of institutional and personal interventions for some of these artists, most notably those affiliated with the House of Artists (today known as the Art Brut Center) in Gugging, Austria. The exhibition, curated by Molly Dougherty, Director of the Keen Collection, features forty-eight works from the Keen Collection at Bethany Mission in Philadelphia, PA.

Programming will highlight related topics such as mental health, art therapy, and social justice.

The illustrated catalog includes a discussion among contemporary art experts Richard Torchia and Alex Baker, as well as Sergio Hyland, an artist who was incarcerated for more than twenty years, and Dr. Elizabeth Linehan, professor emerita of philosophy at Saint Joseph’s University, who has taught in the Inside Out prison exchange program at the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix.

Opening Reception: Thursday, January 16, 5-7 PM

Art Therapy Workshop: Tuesday, March 11, 3:30 - 5 PM

Film Screening and Panel Discussion: Tuesday, March 18, 6-8:30 PM
Art and Krimes by Krimes Emmy award winning documentary followed by a discussion with artists from the film.

Eddie Arning

EDDIE ARNING American

b. 1898, Germania, TX

d. 1993, McGregor, TX

Involuntarily committed, Austin State Hospital, Austin TX, 1934-73

Untitled (Woman with Bird), 1968-70
Cray-pas on paper
19 x 25"

Untitled (Family at Table), 1968-70
Cray-pas on paper
19 x 25"

"Lark, Put Some More Flavor in Your Life" c. 1969
Cray-pas on paper
25.25 x 19.5"

Man with Foot in Box
Cray-pas on paper
19 x 25 1⁄4 in.

Untitled (Man with 2 Dogs), 1968-70
Cray-pas on paper
19 x 25 in.

1 of 5

Henry Ray Clark

HENRY RAY CLARK American

b. 1936, Bartlett, TX

d. 2006, Houston TX

Incarcerated, Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville

Untitled (The Chains of My Nightmare), 1999
Marker and pen on manila folder
11 1⁄2 x 15 1⁄4 in.

I Am Starface, 1999
Marker and pen on manila folder
11 ½ x 15 ¼ in.

1 of 2

James Edward Deeds Jr.

JAMES EDWARD DEEDS, JR. American

b. 1908, Panama

d. 1987, Christian County, Missouri

Involuntarily committed, Missouri State Hospital, No. 3, Nevada, MO

Hats and Caps / Cutaway (verso), 1936-66
Graphite and crayon on ledger paper (double-sided drawing)
9 1/4 x 8 3/8 in.

Junetta / Cotton Gin (verso), 1936-66
Graphite and crayon on ledger paper (double-sided drawing)
9 1/4 x 8 3/8 in.

1 of 2

Ken Grimes

KEN GRIMES American

b. 1947, New York City

Hospitalized five times between 1971 and 1978; creates art at Fellowship Place in New Haven, CT

Untitled (2 of 12 panels), 2013-2015
Acrylic on canvas
28 in. x 20 in.

Evidence for Past Visitations, 2005
Acrylic on canvas
22 x 30 in.

Untitled (Psyche Out a Win), 2003
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 72 in.

Binary Code (6 of 6 panels), 2019
Ink on paper
12 x 9 in.

1 of 4

Johann Hauser

JOHANN HAUSER Slovakian

b. 1926, Bratislava, Slovakia

d. 1996, Klosterneuburg, Austria

Involuntarily committed, Maria Gugging Psychiatric Hospital, outskirts of Vienna, Austria; moved to the Center for Art and Psychotherapy (1981), renamed the “House of Artists” (1986), autonomous building on the outer edge of the Gugging hospital grounds.

Elephant, n.d.
Mixed media on drawing paper
8.25 x 11.75 in.

1 of 1

Frank Albert Jones

FRANK ALBERT JONES American

b. 1900, near Clarksville, TX

d. 1969, Huntsville, TX

Incarcerated, Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville; 28 years, over 3 prison terms

Untitled, 1960
Colored pencil on paper
18 3⁄4 x 25 in.

1 of 1

Joe Massey

JOE MASSEY American

b. 1895

d. unknown

Incarcerated, Ohio State Penitentiary, Columbus, 1939-50, Marion Correctional Institution, Marion OH, 1950-55; paroled 1959, released 1965.

Telling Me Where to Bend, 1946
Ink on paper
11 x 8 1⁄2 in.

Watch Your Step, n.d.
Ink on paper
11 x 8 1⁄2 in.

1 of 2

Justin McCarthy

JUSTIN MCCARTHY American

b. 1891, Hazleton, PA

d. 1977, Tucson, AZ

Involuntarily committed, five years, Rittersville State Home for the Insane, Allentown, PA

Ethyl Clayton
Mixed media on paper
6 1/2 x 5 in.

Flowers, 1969
Oil on masonite
24 x 24 in.

Tournament of Roses, c.1965
Watercolor, graphite and ink on cardboard (signed)
22 x 28 in.

1 of 3

Martin Ramirez

MARTIN RAMIREZ Mexican

b. 1895, Jalisco, Mexico

d. 1963, Auburn, CA

Involuntarily committed, Stockton State Hospital, Stockton, CA, DeWitt State Hospital, Auburn, CA, 1931-63

Untitled (Woman in a Red Dress), c. 1960-63
Mixed media on paper
22 5/8 x 20 in.

Untitled (Arches), c. 1960-63
Graphite and colored pencil on pieced paper
16 x 22 1/2 in.

Untitled (Triangle Landscape with Train), c. 1960-63
Gouache and graphite on pieced paper
13 1/2 x 23 in.

Untitled (Female Rider on Purple Horse) , c. 1952-53
Gouache, colored pencil and graphite on pieced paper
28 x 24 in.

Church and Cross
Paint, crayon, and colored pencil on pieced brown paper
31 x 20 1/2 in.

Untitled (Horse and Rider Hunting Rabbit), 1960-63
Gouache and graphite on pieced paper
23.5 h x 23 w in.

Abstracted Landscape with Horse and Rider
Gouache and graphite on pieced paper
24 1/2 x 20 in.

Abstraction with Colonnade
Gouache and colored pencil and graphite on pieced paper
19 x 26 in.

1 of 8

Heinrich Reisenbauer

HEINRICH REISENBAUER Austrian

b. 1938, Kirchau, Austria

Hospitalized for 30 years; invited to Gugging House of Artists, outskirts of Vienna, Austria, 1986

Pencils, 2013
Pencil and colored pencils on paper
24 1/2 x 17 1/4 in.

Skis, 1991
Crayon and pencil drawing on paper
8 1/4 x 11 5/8 in.

1 of 2

Günther Schützenhöfer

GÜNTHER SCHÜTZENHÖFER Austrian

b. 1965, Mödling, Austria

Institutionalized off and on for many years; invited to Gugging House of Artists, 1999

Castle Neuschwanstein, 2012
Graphite and colored pencil on paper
26 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.

1 of 1

Herbert Singleton

HERBERT SINGLETON American

b. 1945, New Orleans, LA

d. 2007, New Orleans, LA

Incarcerated, Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, two stretches, 1967-86

Going Home Brother, c. 1980s
Carved and painted wood relief on salvaged cedar board
20 H x 60 W in.

1 of 1

Leopold Strobl

LEOPOLD STROBL Austrian

b. 1960, Mistelbach, Austria

Guest at the Open Studio program, Gugging House of Artists, outskirts of Vienna, Austria, since 2004

Untitled (2014-075), 2014
Graphite and colored pencils on newsprint mounted on paper
3 3/8 x 5 in.

Untitled (2014-152), 2014
Graphite and colored pencils on newsprint mounted on paper
3 x 2 7/8 in.

Untitled (2015-171), 2015
Graphite and colored pencils on newsprint mounted on paper
5 x 3 7/8 in.

1 of 3

Inez Nathaniel Walker

INEZ NATHANIEL WALKER American

b. 1911, Sumper, SC

d. 1990, Willard, NY

Incarcerated, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Bedford Hills, NY, 1971-72

Man With Goatee, 1977
Ink and colored pencil on paper
18 x 12 in.

Double Portrait, 1977
Graphite and colored pencil on paper
12 x 18 in.

Untitled (Portrait of a Woman)
Graphite on paper
12 x 11 in.

1 of 3

August Walla

AUGUST WALLA Austrian

b. 1936, Klosterneuburg, Austria

d. 2001, Vienna, Austria

Involuntarily committed, 1952-57. In 1970, committed, Maria Gugging Psychiatric Clinic; in 1986,
moved to Gugging House of Artists, outskirts of Vienna, Austria.