GALLERY GUIDE
Kalin Thomas, Paulus Swims the River Po, 2022
Featuring self-taught artists from Vermont and the surrounding region, Outstanding explores the growing popularity and shifting implications of contemporary artists whose creative practice falls outside mainstream and traditional categories of art making.
Outstanding features the work of: Larry Bissonnette, Denver Ferguson, June Gutman, Chip Haggerty, Liza Phillip, Pamela Smith, Thomas Stetson, and Kalin Thomas.
Working in highly personal and often idiosyncratic styles without formal academic training, these artists are compelled to create works filled with imaginative and visual power. The exhibit includes a diversity of drawings, paintings, and three-dimensional works by eight artists who investigate themes of healing, memory, community, and the otherworldly.
Vermont has a long tradition of cultivating the self-taught artists as demonstrated by such beloved and distinguished native artists as Grandma Moses, Gayleen Aiken, or Merrill Densmore. While it is expansive and difficult to define, the self-taught genre remains popular and ever relevant with its association to regional ideals of independence and authenticity.
The artists in Outstanding are helping to reshape today’s artistic discourse —one that is more inclusive and less defined by formal modes or restrictive definitions. Revealing their own truths, these artists stand out from dominant styles of art making as they explore unconventional paths to creative expression.
— Heather Ferrell, Curator and Director of Exhibitions
1. LARRY BISSONNETTE
Larry loves pretty pink color in his paintings. People pictures like to nestle in pink colored world 2023, mixed media, 11.5 x 48.5"
2. LARRY BISSONNETTE
Other people like pretty colors. Larry’s little nephew pleased with pink as his patterned background 2023, mixed media, 11.5 x 48.5"
3. KALIN THOMAS
Paulus Swims the River Po
2022, mixed media on panel, 13 x 13"
4. CHIP HAGGERTY
Dark Star Apple Store
2023, mixed media, 52 x 83"
5. PAMELA SMITH
Do Tell
2022, acrylic on Masonite, 20.5 x 24.5"
6. DENVER FERGUSON
Carousel Protector of the Seven Worlds
2023, colored pencil, graphite, pen on paper 1 x 8 ½"
7. DENVER FERGUSON
Untitled (2L)
2022, colored pencil, graphite, pen on paper 11 x 8 ½"
8. CHIP HAGGERTY
St. Louis Crossword
2022, mixed media, 64 x 36"
9. CHIP HAGGERTY
AZ (Arizona)
2023, mixed media, 45 x 79"
10. JUNE GUTMAN
Ode to El Greco #2
2022, graphite pencil, colored pencil, acrylic paint on paper, 6 3/8 x 5 3/8"
11. JUNE GUTMAN
Absolute Sanity
2022, graphite pencil, colored pencil, acrylic paint on paper, 9 ½ x 6 ½"
12. KALIN THOMAS
Frontiers in Lobotomy
2021, mixed media on panel, 48 x 48"
13. PAMELA SMITH
Sly Bride
2022, acrylic on Masonite, 16 x 20"
14. THOMAS STETSON
Phase 2: 5/5/12-2/8/14
2012-2014, mixed media, 9 x 7 x 3"
15. THOMAS STETSON
Phase 3: 2/8/14-9/9/19
2014-2019, mixed media, 9 x 7 x 3"
16. LIZA PHILLIP
Trans is Divine! 2023, mixed media, 54 x 72"
17. LARRY BISSONNETTE
Orange picks out silliness moment of keeping colors dark to shine brightly 2017, mixed media, 20 x 40"
18. LARRY BISSONNETTE
Hopeful Courtney looks for a blue sky future 2018, mixed media, 16 x 48"
19. THOMAS STETSON
Untitled 2022, mixed media, 20.5 x 22.5 x 2.5"
20. THOMAS STETSON
Delirium Tremens 2023, pen and ink, artist markers, paper, epoxy resin, 43 x 19 x 4"
21. JUNE GUTMAN
Sword of Faith 2022, graphite pencil, colored pencil on paper 8 ¼ x 5 ¾"
22. JUNE GUTMAN
Snood’s Mildred 2022, graphite pencil, colored pencil, acrylic paint on paper, 8 3/8 x 5 3/8"
23. KALIN THOMAS
Tre Volte Lei Gli Fece Le Avances
è Tre Volte La Rifiutò 2023, mixed media on panel, 41 x 44"
24. LIZA PHILLIP
Bo Bo Stuffed Animal 2022, hand-sewn upcycled materials, hand-painted chair, 59 x 20 x 24"
25. LIZA PHILLIP You Are Not Alone!
2023, mixed media, 54 x 72”
26. DENVER FERGUSON
Neon City (1L), 2021 colored pencil, graphite, pen on paper, 11 x 8 ½"
27. DENVER FERGUSON
Untitled (#7), 2022 colored pencil, graphite, pen on paper, 2 ½ x 4"
28. DENVER FERGUSON
Untitled (#43), 2023 colored pencil, graphite, pen on paper, 2 ½ x 4"
29. THOMAS STETSON
Devout Psychopathology
2020, pen and ink, artist markers, 43 x 24"
30. PAMELA SMITH
Holding Love, 2022, paper mache, 39.5 x 38 x 23"
LARRY BISSONETTE
Artist and disability rights advocate Larry Bissonette creates colorful abstract drawings, and multimedia works of thick, swirling paint and photographs that often includes familiar objects, numbers, or recurring phrases. As someone on the autism spectrum, Larry finds art as an essential means of self-expression. Larry has collaborated with Vermont nonprofit G.R.A.C.E (Grass Roots Arts and Community Effort) and been a featured presenter at many national educational conferences advocating on topics of autism, communication, and art. Select exhibitions includes a solo show at Amy Tarrant Gallery, Flynn Center for Performing Arts; Burlington, VT, and a group exhibition at Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. He is both the subject and writer of an award-winning film about his art and life, My Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry Bissonnette, and starred in the documentary about adults with autism Wretches and Jabberers Currently he lives in Williston, Vermont, with a studio in Burlington.
DENVER FERGUSON
Denver Ferguson creates intricate colored drawings that either feature a solitary, unearthly figure or consist of double portraits of two characters from otherworldly realms. Following the devastation of Hurricanes Maria and Irma to the US Virgin Islands in 2017, he relocated to the Upper Connecticut River Valley where his daughter was living. Culturally displaced, he began drawing as a way to alleviate the anxiety and dislocation his new environs. He discovered drawing during quiet moments while working as a cashier at the Upper Valley Co-op in White River Junction. Denver’s work was recently featured at the 2023 Outsider Art Fair in a solo presentation, Through the Eyes of the Cosmos, by Kishka Gallery & Library, VT. Denver currently resides in West Lebanon, NH.
JUNE GUTMAN
June Gutman creates intimate and enigmatic drawings in soft, muted colors that evoke the imagery of tarot cards or illuminated manuscripts. Through her use of highly personal and elaborate symbolism, June explores the opaqueness, secrecy, and hidden nature of the human consciousness. She describes herself as a Jewish woman and psychiatric-survivor who spent her formative years as an overmedicated mental patient. Her otherworldly narratives obliquely convey the suffering from this experience, and her creative path toward healing. Relatively unknown outside devoted followers and collectors, June Gutman lives and works in Montreal, Canada.
Larry Bissonnette, Orange picks out silliness moment of keeping colors dark to shine brightly, 2017
Denver Ferguson, Carousel Protector of the Seven Worlds, 2023
June Gutman, Sword of Faith, 2022
JOSEPH “CHIP” HAGGERTY
Using bold colors and witty observations, Chip Haggerty creates childlike, oversize paintings on deconstructed paper shopping bags that combine stream of consciousness recollections with quotidian imagery. Inspired by youthful experiences, travels, social gatherings, literature, and every day encounters, he collages past and recent interactions to formulate each work. Chip grew up in Long Island and attended school in New England, which eventually led him to Stowe, Vermont, where he has lived with his family the past 45 years. He began painting in earnest a few years ago after sending an oversize thank you note to a relative. Working prolifically, Chip has only recently begun showing his paintings the past few years with group shows through Burlington’s S.E.A.B.A. Gallery, Julia Seabrook Gallery, NY, and the Front, VT. Chip Haggerty lives and works in Stowe, VT.
Chip Haggerty, St. Louis Crossword, 2022
THOMAS STETSON
Thomas Stetson creates highly detailed drawings (often hand-bound as journals) and mixed-media assemblages that capture emotional states of fear and anxiety. Describing his process as cathartic, his drawings depict dreams, real life events, and arcane medical illustrations with a meticulous and obsessive line. His work has been featured in several group exhibitions in Burlington at S.P.A.C.E. Gallery and The Fleming Museum, and has been featured in several publications by Montreal-based Scream & Writhe.
Thomas is a dedicated member of Burlington’s Howard Center Arts Collective, a group of artists who have experience with mental health or substance use challenges that collaborate to create and exhibit work together. Thomas Stetson currently lives in Burlington, VT.
Thomas Stetson, Untitled, 2022
Liza Phillip, You Are Not Alone!, 2023
Pamela Smith, Do Tell, 2022
Kalin Thomas, Frontiers in Lobotomy, 2021
LIZA PHILLIP
As a Black, queer creative, Liza Phillip strives to reach all types of people with their work. Phillip’s paintings are recognizable for their bold, graphic use of line and color, uplifting messages, and their depictions of genderless characters that the artist fondly refers to as “monsters.” Interested in exploring life and creativity beyond traditional binaries, Phillip desires to be more inclusive of all types of people especially minorities, and their LGBTQ+ and BIPOC community. Their work can be found in public spaces such as Lakeview Community Garden, Vermont Comedy Club, and the Bethel Elementary School; as a featured artist with Burlington’s Foam Brewers; and in a group show at the Amy E. Tarrant Gallery at the Flynn as part of the 40th Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. Liza Phillip currently lives in Colchester, VT.
KALIN THOMAS
Kalin Thomas’ seemingly classical paintings are informed by his long-term investigations of old-master paintings of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, mythology, and symbolism. He focuses his studies extensively on materials and processes, improvises new techniques, and manipulates content and symbols to form enigmatic narratives that move between history and fiction, sincerity and deception. Kalin studied Linguistics at the University of British Columbia, and lived for a time in Brisbane, Australia, before settling in Vermont. His work has been exhibited at Manifest Gallery, Cleveland and been featured as part of S.P.A.C.E. Gallery’s programming. Kalin Thomas lives in Burlington, VT.
PAMELA SMITH
Pamela Smith’s colorful, richly patterned paintings often feature still lifes and portraits of women and their relations—whether children or animals such as birds, rabbits, and foxes. Drawing on her background in textiles and years of living abroad and admiring folk art, Pamela creates paintings that reflect her inner world, with dreams and memories interwoven to suggest imaginative narratives. Her work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions at Northern Daughters, Vergennes, Art at the Kent, Calais, and Folkheart, Bristol. Pamela Smith is based in Bristol, VT.