On Outsider Art

To describe art as "outsider" can be misleading. Throughout the years, art that did not fit the guidelines or technique of the aesthetic mainstream has been labeled as many things, including "outsider," "primitive," or "self-taught", meaning that its authors were academically untrained, usually highly creative but naïve individuals considered outcasts and sometimes even mental patients.
 
The artists that Van der Plas Gallery chooses to represent may or may not fall into this category in all of its aspects. Instead, the definition of "outsider" as we appropriate it stems from elsewhere. Regardless of the artistic education, the medium, or style, there has to be a raw truthfulness to the work, honesty, and purity in the process of creation, which reveals the artist's human condition. In other words, there is an implicit coherence between the artist as a human being and their work.
 
There's the art that's the product of academic training or is fundamentally a means to a commercial end. It's conceived as a piece to be sold right from the start. Then there's an art that one can be certain is born out of a unique view of the world and an urgency to create; whether there has been academic training or not, doesn't interfere with its essence—art born out of the artist's own emergency to give birth to it.
 
It happens, though, on precious occasions, that "truthful" art is of such genius that, if given the proper exposure and seen by the right audiences, can become a commercial success without this tainting its honesty.
There's an almost magical satisfaction in unveiling these discoveries by giving them the acknowledgment they deserve and the appropriate exposure to art buyers, curators, and collectors worldwide.
 
But in a world where artistic manifestations seem to be blossoming on every corner, the recognition of this potential in an art piece can be complex. It takes an experienced eye to see the glow of true fire amongst a sea of overvalued mediocrity. It's easy to get lost and fall for what's "almost good" or for what a critic decides is good when in truth, it's just a fleeting trend with no intrinsic artistic worth.
 
A lifetime of passion for art and more than 30 years of collecting pieces of great value have forged and polished in Adriaan Van der Plas an intuitive, almost instinctive understanding of artwork.
 
At this point in his career, he has stepped away from all artistic commonplaces to pursue that which is no less than great; a true devotion to discovering something as equally beautiful as it is meaningful.
 
There needs to be a certainty of the art's worth, which relies upon the authenticity of its creative process, thoroughness, and expertise of such value that it's impossible not to be passionate about. This makes it so much more appealing for those pursuing the unconventional.
 
Van der Plas' mission is to find and show contemporary, up-and-coming living artists from all over the world who may not share a style or medium but do fall into the category of outsider when it comes to the truth behind their work. 
 
It is, of course, financially safer to represent pop artists or those that have passed, dead icons whose fame is already well-established and whose legacy is preyed upon to the point of commercial exhaustion. However, the living artist desperately needs space, satisfaction, and security to receive recognition while alive. 

This reassurance will encourage them to keep producing, thus creating a scenario where everybody wins: the artist thrives, and collectors benefit from this prosperity. At the same time, the gallery serves as a nexus between both in a three-party bond of trust.