Marcus David
March 2026

Jon Serl, photo courtesy of the writer

This year is the 34th edition of Outsider Art Fair (March 19-22) and it just keeps getting better. Critics, collectors and art lovers alike are delighted to see the New York City’s Metropolitan Pavilion packed to the brim with quirky art created in earnest by the self-taught.

The presentation is slick and polished, further moving to establish the elastic marketing category of Outsider Art as a luxury brand. Crowds are flocking to see the unusual, the unexpected and at times even twisted visions that the untrained artistic mind reveals, thus making for a fascinating experience. The back stories of the artists are often as compelling as the art itself, creating a wonderful sense of discovery.

Featuring 68 exhibitors from across the United States and around the world the Outsider Art fair is jam-packed with stunning visual art. Here are a few highlights and personal favorites.

Shrine gallery exhibited paintings by the artist Jon Serl (1894-1993). Serl was an American self-taught artist who lived a colorful and unconventional life. As a child, he worked alongside his large family as a vaudeville performer. Later in life, he worked as a Hollywood voice actor and migrant fruit picker before devoting his life to painting after World War II. The subject matter in Serl’s paintings ranges from everyday scenes and landscapes to more supernatural narratives.

Norman Brosterman gallery exhibited cermaics by artist Gil Batle (b. 1962). Born in San Francisco Batle developed his self-taught drawing skills over the course of 20 years as he served time in five different California prisons. Sentenced for fraud and forgery, Batle leveraged his artistic abilities through a secretive sought after tattoo service. The demand for his skills largely protected him from the aggression of other inmates. After his release Batle moved to a remote island in the Philippines, where he honed his skills in drawing. Recalling his experiences in the prison system he presents acrylic on ceramic plate paintings filled with intense imagery of incarceration and the longing for freedom.

Pulp gallery presented paintings by artist Earl T. Merchant (1903 to 1997).  Merchant was a self-taught artist from Gloucester, MA. He graduated from Boston University law school and practiced law for over 40 years. In the early 1960s, he picked up a brush and began painting portraits. Capturing hundreds of local residents merchant meticulously labeled the back of his work with the sitter’s name, date and often age. He managed to capture the complex inner world of his subjects.