Disabled Artists Shine at Tierra Del Sol Gallery
John Maul is the solo artist of his own sold-out gallery exhibition in Los Angeles (LA). He also happens to be in his mid-sixties and have non-verbal learning disability (NVD). “Well, it’s not that he’s completely non-verbal,” explains Page Wery. She is the curator and Art Director of the Tierra Del Sol Gallery in Chinatown, which is tucked behind the Chinese restaurant Foo Chow, whose sign boasts ‘Rush Hour was Filmed HERE!’ “It’s just that he doesn’t form sentences the way you or I would,” Wery continued.
Per their mission statement, the Tierra Del Sol Foundation’s goal is “empowering people with developmental disabilities through workforce development, college to career, careers in the arts.” Part of how they accomplish this is by working with artists like Maul in their studio spaces in Upland and Sunland, each with about 40 to 50 artists making work. Maul and many of the other artists at the Tierra Del Studios have NVD, which, according to the Learning Disabilities Association of America is “usually characterized by a significant discrepancy between higher verbal skills and weaker motor, visual-spatial and social skills.”
In place of verbal communication, one of Maul’s modes of primary expression is his artwork. He uses repetition and his own secret language, featuring his own name intentionally misspelled in every piece. Also consistent within his colored pencil, ballpoint pen, and paint pieces are his signature subjects of trees and wildflowers that he used to garden with his mother growing up in south LA.
Pete Verdin, the gallery manager, said “They would throw wildflower seeds in the backyard, and plant a number of different plants, and that’s how these beautiful landscapes developed. It left a lasting impression on him. About 15 years ago he moved out to the Inland Empire where he joined the Tierra del Sol foundation.” The clients of the studio program are not limited to visual art; at the studio, artists have the freedom to excel in a variety of areas. “We have ceramic studios, drawing studios, painting studios, and Sunland has a farm...Our clients are able to work with these animals and hopefully get employment somewhere else in the equestrian neighborhoods,” said Verdin.
Founding Tierra Del Sol artist Michael LeVell practices craft of ceramics at the foundation’s progressive studios. The legally blind artist makes two and three dimensional works inspired by his love of architecture. His work is the next solo show at the gallery. (Photo courtesy of Tierra Del Sol.)
The Tierra Del Sol Gallery is an annex space solely for the artists of the foundation. With Maul’s art all sold and ready to go on tour, veteran Tierra Del Sol artist Michael LeVell will be showing in the space next. A legally blind senior citizen, LeVell has been a part of the foundation since the inception of its arts branch in 1989. His work features his impression of architecture digests reduced to their most simple lines and painted in acrylics. LeVell’s work will be in the exhibition beginning March 14 and concluding May 2.
The support for the differently-abled artists extends out into the community with their workforce and school programs, but it also reaches back into the families who help place their loved ones in good programs.
Wery was moved at the family involvement with Maul’s show. "Because he had never had a solo show, about 15 members of his family came to the opening to support him. They had never seen his work framed and hung up. It was this really emotional evening, everybody looking at how talented their brother is when they hadn't really realized that before," says Wery.
"That's a lot of what this space is really about, just showing underrepresented artists in this light, giving them solo shows, and giving them a chance to shine."
The opening reception of LeVell’s studio show will be held 6-9pm on March 14.