The Art of Autism: A Different Lens

Oceanside Museum Exhibition Explores Art Through the Eyes of People on the Autism Spectrum

While group exhibitions tend to be themed around specific issues, The Art of Autism’s premise is that the paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and more were created individually and as a group by people on the autism spectrum. The participating artists, the press material explains, have brains that are “neurodivergent,” or that function differently from those of “neurotypical” people.

Yet most artists I observe and read about, past and present, are far from conventional in their thinking and approaches to life and art. Due to their atypical thinking, they are able to extract from their environment abstract, surreal and/or impressionistic visions, and they turn these visions into creations that can stir viewers to new levels of understanding about the world. Displaying this kind of out-of-the-box thinking and execution, the nearly two dozen artists represented in The Art of Autism sponsored by the San Diego-based non-profit of the same name, at the Oceanside Museum of Art, San Diego County, contribute colorful, humorous, thoughtful, well-wrought artworks.

Nicholas Kontaxis, “Meant to Be,” 2019, acrylic on canvas

Nicholas Kontaxis, a self-taught Greek painter based in Palm Springs, presents colorful large-scale, abstract canvases, composed of acrylics, ink, oils, gouache, spices, ash, coffee, dirt and more. Working in several styles of abstraction, he includes in his paintings striated strokes of paint, circular blobs, a grid system of different colors with pointillist strokes and hieroglyphic markings. His paintings, he says, are designed to evoke emotions from his viewers. Meant to Be (2019), a 102-inch-wide acrylic, is a garden of multi-colored squares.

Jeremy Sicile-Kira, “The Greatly Beautiful Colors of My Future Life,” 2020, acrylic on canvas

The paintings of Jeremy Sicile-Kira, also abstract and colorful, are built up from broader strokes of paint. Immersing oneself in the personal visions of the artist—who was diagnosed with severe autism as a child—is to experience the manifestation of his dreams, which he describes as the foundations of his work. His inspirations also include seeing peoples’ faces not as expressions, but as the colors of a rainbow. Listening to music and hearing people’s voices also stimulate his creativity. His visions and dreams become the genesis of his canvasses, which he paints with the intention to give his viewers hope. His acrylic The Greatly Beautiful Colors of My Future Life (2020) features colorful starbursts that beckon us to engage in his unusual world.

Carissa Paccerelli, “Nostalgia, 2020, acrylic on canvas

The painterly figurations of Carissa Mordeno Paccerelli are childlike phantasmagorical impressions of children, school kids, faces, both happy and sad, spiritual figures, robotic figures and teddy bears. Diagnosed with autism from a young age, she began developing her artistic skills when she had difficulty talking to people, but conveyed her feelings through artmaking. She has been painting and drawing continually throughout her 20-something life to express her personal feelings, and has received a variety of awards and recognitions for her artworks. Nostalgia (2020) is a composite of several favored images, including teddy bears, toy shmoos and a small ghost, all floating in an abstract heavenly space.

Austin John Jones uses his traditional art training (he earned a degree from Art Center College of Design) to create a variety of thoughtful digital and acrylic paintings. His humorous renditions of faces, children, animals, imaginary creatures—seemingly inspired by cartoons—appear to view the world from curious, adventurous and bemused perspectives. His adult-focused paintings of people and animals combine sardonic wit with a more serious perspective. A Cruel Mind (2024) depicts a sarcastic face laughing at something outside the canvas, while a drawing within the face’s brain reveals a boy shielding himself. As a personal image, the sarcastic face is an outward attempt to hide the fears within.

Other notable work here includes fiber art by Brendan Kerr, an abstract self-portrait by Alex Nichols, humorous plastic toys and paintings of toys by Joel Anderson, and a photo of a surfer by Spencer Brown.

The art in this exhibition compares favorably in theme, vision and technique to much mainstream art seen in galleries and museums. The depth of the artists’ work illustrates how people on the autism spectrum can thrive in this world, and thereby give to others, especially when nurtured by family and community.