It never struck me before, but of course there are strong art brut affinities in the art of  Tal R.  

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“I think entering my work feels a bit like entering a Luna Park. There’s the roller-coaster, there are shooting galleries, and of course the candy floss van. There are all these different tents with different things. At first glance, it might look like I make very different types of works. But if you look closer, I think most people will see that they are all very connected. The unifying element is the way I work. I fish in what I’m seeing.”

Tal R. doesn’t at all fit the bill as outsider, he is after all a professor of art, but there is something about the expressive naiveté in his images, the narrative threads, and the idiosyncratic use of colour – all pointing me in the direction of art brut.  Come to think of it … he also, in some ways, reminds me of Phyllida Barlow …

So maybe the actual link isn’t between true and authentic artists in the “real world” , maybe it’s all in my mind? Maybe its just me, trying to get my heroes to hang out together – !

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Born in Tel Aviv in 1967, Tal R moved to Denmark with his family as a child. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, graduating in 2000, and continues to live and work in the city. 

Recent solo institutional exhibitions include Tal R: The Wrong Side, an exhibition of sculptures and drawings,on view at Artipelag, Stockholm, Sweden (2022). A two-person exhibition, Tal R & Mamma Andersson – About Hill, is currently on view at Malmö Konstmuseum, Sweden (until 1 October 2023) and was previously on display at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg, Denmark (14 October 2022–10 April 2023).