Judith Scott

Judith Scott (1943–2005) was a visual artist isolated from outside influences as a result of the impact of deafness and Down’s syndrome. She was independent and self-directed. In the 18 years Scott made her work she never repeated a form or color scheme. Crafting armatures of bamboo slats and discarded materials, she diligently wrapped each work with lengths of knotted cloth or yarn. The artist was introduced to fiber art in 1987 by artist Sylvia Seventy at Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, CA, and produced a remarkable, breathtaking body of mixed-media sculptures. Roger Cardinal and John MacGregor, internationally known scholars in the field, designated Scott an ‘Outsider artist’, as her sculptures reflect little cultural input and are highly individualistic, reflecting Scott’s own unique personal vision. Her work is in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Collection de l’Art Brut, Switzerland; The American Folk Art Museum, New York; the Museum of Everything, London; and her work was part of a group exhibition at Gladstone Gallery, New York, in 2006.