One-Armed Attack

Matt Sesow lost his dominant arm in an accident as a child, but that didn’t stop the now-famous self-taught outsider artist from expressing himself. He picked up a paintbrush nearly twenty years ago, learned to wield it with his other arm, and has been painting ever since, often basing his...

By Susan Froyd

August 21, 2014

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Matt Sesow lost his dominant arm in an accident as a child, but that didn’t stop the now-famous self-taught outsider artist from expressing himself. He picked up a paintbrush nearly twenty years ago, learned to wield it with his other arm, and has been painting ever since, often basing his brightly colored, punkish imagery on current events.

A darling of outsider-art collectors around the world, Sesow has shown work at Access Gallery — which focuses on art opportunities for the disabled and raising awareness of accessibility issues — a few times before, but his new exhibit, Access Denied, directly tackles those very issues in sympathetic unison with the organization. And because he arrived in Denver early to create some of the work on site, expect his topics to be up to the minute.

“Matt’s work has been described as angry, immediate and frantic,” says Access director Damon McLeese. “All of those terms might be appropriate, but I find his work engaging, thoughtful and often provoking, which is what I think art should be.” He’s hopeful that the young, hip audiences that Access gets on First Fridays will be energized by Sesow’s visceral style.

Access Denied opens with a reception tonight from 5 to 8 p.m. and runs through September 13 at Access Gallery, 909 Santa Fe Drive; if you can’t make tonight’s event, a second reception will take place at the same time during September’s First Friday art walk. Go to accessgallery.org or call 303-777-0797 for details.
Fri., Aug. 15, 5-8 p.m.; Tuesdays-Fridays; Fri., Sept. 5, 5-8 p.m. Starts: Aug. 15. Continues through Sept. 13, 2014

Susan Froyd started writing for Westword as the "Thrills" editor in 1992 and never quite left the fold. These days she still freelances for the paper in addition to walking her dogs, enjoying cheap ethnic food and reading voraciously. Sometimes she writes poetry.

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