13 artistas con discapacidades intelectuales destacados en exposición en Turín.
An exhibition recently inaugurated in Turin highlights the work of 13 artists with intellectual disabilities from the Eisenberg collection. Last week, the Italian city of Turin hosted the Special World Winter Games 2025, welcoming athletes with intellectual disabilities from over 100 different countries to compete on a global stage. But the spirit of inclusion extended beyond sports. In parallel with the Games, at Fondazione Sandretto Rebaudengo, a non-profit contemporary art museum founded by collector Patrizia Sandretto Rebaudengo in 1995, a celebration of creativity, inclusion, and self-expression took place.
Under the title «When Attitudes Take Shape,» the exhibition showcases the extraordinary talent of 13 artists with intellectual disabilities from the Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg collection. The Eisenbergs, long-time advocates for artists with disabilities, dedicated their collection to amplifying voices often overlooked in the art world. In collaboration with prestigious New York curator Matthew Higgs, they have curated a selection of works that challenge perceptions and celebrate individuality.
The artists featured in the exhibition have a wide range of intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as non-verbal autism, schizophrenia, and cognitive impairments, each shaping their artistic output. The diversity within the neurodiverse community is highlighted in the unique techniques, themes, artistic focus, preferred scale, and choice of materials of each artist.
Dan Miller, an autistic artist with communication challenges, harnesses the power of repetition in his work. His pieces feature a dizzying array of words, letters, names, and numbers overlaid in a chaotic yet fascinating abstraction reminiscent of Jackson Pollock’s style. Similarly, Nnena Kalu’s practice is based on repetition and layering. Since 1999, she has been part of ActionSpace, a London-based support organization for learning artists, with her large-scale installations gaining international recognition.
For some artists in the exhibition, art serves as a means to provoke social narratives. The late Derrick Alexis Coard, who grappled with schizoaffective disorder, used his work to explore issues like black masculinity, spirituality, and faith. William Scott, an artist from Oakland with autism and schizophrenia, creates vibrant works deeply rooted in his life experiences, depicting members of his family, churchgoers, actors, musicians, and civil rights leaders. His paintings often envision a utopian San Francisco, proposing new neighborhoods, buildings, and community centers.
The exceptional talent of the artists in this exhibition is undeniable. However, people with disabilities are still vastly underrepresented in the arts. A 2023 report commissioned by the British Council revealed that 48% of European arts organizations have showcased works by disabled individuals less than once a year, with 23% never doing so.
Exhibitions like «When Attitudes Take Shape» play a crucial role in breaking down these barriers in the art world. By giving visibility to neurodiverse voices and perspectives, art becomes a powerful tool for universal attraction.
«One of the most important aspects of this exhibition is telling the story of champions. Not only the artists themselves but also the collectors who championed this work. These collectors tirelessly navigated the art world in museums and galleries, advocating for this art to be seen,» explains Higgs.
«When Attitudes Take Shape» can be visited until April 27 at Sandretto Rebaudengo by the Turin Foundation in Italy.
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