Allison Hersh, Savannah Morning News

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Photographed by Matt Sesow from his press packets, October 18, 2026; text transcribed from the photos by Claude.

A dozen portraits by contemporary folk artists showcased in "The Many Faces of Folk Art" at the Hurn Museum

Allison Hersh
For the Savannah Morning News

[Handwritten: December 24, 2005]

In its latest exhibit, the Hurn Museum of Contemporary Folk Art has put the focus on faces.

This small show, titled "The Many Faces of Folk Art," showcases 12 portraits by a range of contemporary folk artists through the end of February. Co-curated by Michael and Valerie Sottile, the exhibit continues the museum's ongoing fascination with the underlying connection between folk art and fine art, invoking portraiture as one way of understanding that connection.

Stylistic elements which recall paintings by Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau and even Francis Bacon recur throughout "The Many Faces of Folk Art," demonstrating the degree to which contemporary folk artists have been inspired by art history. This exhibit suggests that the old-fashioned notion of the naïve, self-taught artist who creates inspired work in a history-free vacuum is nothing but a romanticized fantasy, as many of these twenty-first-century folk artists draw freely, and often quite self-consciously, from earlier masters.

"The new generation of folk artists is not doing Clementine Hunter stuff," said Michael Sottile, curator of the Hurn Museum of Contemporary Folk Art. "Their work has greater depth, more technique and more meaning."

The exhibit offers a relatively understated sampling of portraiture created between 1975 and 2005, with the majority of the work having been created in the last several years. From the Zen-like beauty of Carrie Knowles's golden-hued serigraph "Morning Tea" to the diorama jungle effect of Harriet McGee's "Eve in the Big Garden," the artists on display use a range of techniques to represent the human figure.

Matt Sesow's "Father of the Bride" threatens to steal the show with its irrepressible expressionistic angst. This 2001 acrylic painting on cardboard is defined by the remarkable violence of its brush strokes, which recall the kinetic force of Jack the Ripper with their razor-sharp slashes and blade-like shredding effect. These kinetic linear forms combine to create a grotesque portrait of an imposing man in a blue blazer and orange tie, dried white mounds of paint forming his monstrous teeth.

Sesow's composition is even more impressive with the knowledge that he had one hand amputated in a freak childhood accident. At the age of eight, this self-taught artist was struck by a landing airplane whose propeller severed his arm and resulted in the loss of his dominant hand.

Other highlights in "The Many Faces of Folk Art" include three portraits by revered Savannah folk artist Rudolph Bostic. "Green Lady," a 1975 portrait of a woman crafted from food coloring and enamel on cardboard, has a surprisingly elegant effect with its thick brush strokes and dramatic use of contrast.

Alabama outsider artist Michael Banks's mixed media painting "Good Boy, Bad Boy" offers insight into his creative use of form and color to create offbeat portraits of wide-eyed figures. This portrait, which complements his retrospective which occupies the Hurn Museum's main galleries, focuses upon a swollen-faced, green-eyed figure with a suspended yellow halo dripping, like melted butter, above his head.

For each of the artists on display, the human face serves as a pliable canvas upon which they can freely experiment, projecting emotions and exploring the depth of the human condition. From self-conscious self-portraiture to African-inspired, mask-like faces, "The Many Faces of Folk Art" offers a tantalizing glimpse of a growing subgenre of folk art.

Museum director Valerie Sottile says that she is impressed by the sincerity and authenticity of the portraits on display. "This work comes from the soul," she said. "Folk art is really emerging into fine art."