The Art of Alzheimer's and the Artist Within: A profound survey

The Artist Within is easily one of the most interesting and surprising projects in my framing career. The project is a curated selection of watercolors created by Alzheimer's patients and is scheduled to exhibit here in Seattle January 7th, 2016 at Seattle City Hall/Anne Focke Gallery.

We were tasked with the framing design for the exhibit and to help with logistics, such as installation and custom crating. Usually with artwork created in therapy or in student session, the end results are a personal record and not for public display. The paintings curated for this exhibit however have a dignity and sensitivity which needs to be highlighted and preserved by the framing. In short our framing design started by treating the artwork as artwork to be presented in a gallery setting. 

The artwork is float mounted using Japanese paper hinges, acid free mats, UV conservation glazing and reclaimed Pine frames from Urban Ashes. Pine is often a great way to go for vibrant paintings. Pine has a light color but also has warmth which as a frame disappears allowing the viewer's focus to remain on the artwork. This is especially critical for an exhibition where more than 50 works are present side by side. Neutral mats also support the vibrancy and individuality of the paintings where stark white or off-white mats would have looked dull, cold, and repetitive.

The Artist Within opens to the public January 7th, 2016 with a list of events through January available here.

Joel HeflinComment