Outsider art breaks down barriers

The ongoing exhibition Power of Natural Impulses at Beijing's Namo Space features works by Francois Bossiere

For years, art curator Zhang Yanbo had wanted to present a visual experience that would destroy boundaries of nationality, age, gender, religion and social rank.

The concept became clearer when Zhang chanced upon long-time friend Francois Bossiere's oil series Chromoto-pies. The French artist infused blocks of colors with a folding texture on the canvas.

In Bossiere's paintings Zhang found childlike discovery and experimentation transformed into visual delights. She had seen the same passion for creativity in paintings created by autistic children.

The ongoing exhibition Power of Natural Impulses at Beijing's Namo Space features works by Zhang Sen

"They all painted from instinct, from being curious and imaginative, crossing the fences of either illness or painterly doctrines. In an unsophisticated manner, their works strike deeply on our soul," she says.

Zhang juxtaposes dozens of works of Bossiere and three teenage autistic painters at an exhibition titled Power of Natural Impulses at Beijing's Namo Space.

Zhang Sen, 15, is the oldest of the three self-taught painters. The boy from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder, at the age of 4. His works give full expression to his obsessions of the mysteries of the universe, military subjects and science fiction.

He started drawing pencil and ink sketches, and robots and machines become recurring subjects. He painted aeroboats and fierce battles between pilots and warships, drawing inspiration from fantastic scenarios in Hayao Miyazaki's animations.