Painting has made me who I am and who I am has made me painting. Emily McPeek, age 19, a featured artist with Tourette’s Syndrome at Momentum

For those of us looking for indoor activities as winter draws closer, consider a visit to the Smithsonian Institution’s S. Dillon Ripley Center; it’s free, it showcases an outstanding collection of Asian art, and through January 22, 2012 it’s offering an utterly unique exhibition—Momentum: A Juried Exhibition of Emerging Artists With Disabilities.

Since 2001 the Volkswagen Group of America, and VSA (an international organization on arts and disability issues), have partnered together to recognize and showcase emerging artists with disabilities. The honorees are all between the ages of 16 to 25, and all U.S residents. This year’s featured artists offer an eclectic mix of mediums—print-making, oil painting, photography, ceramics, mixed media performance art, video painting, serigraph sculptures and metal work—to create a dynamic and thought-provoking display.

One hesitates to define artists solely through their disability; it is after all insulting and overly simplistic. But an artist of any stripe is inevitably influenced by his or her own life experiences and this exhibit is no exception. Some of the work directly reflects a medical theme. Sonya Seitz age 25 (diagnosed with lupus at an early age), offered a mixed media presentation called “Coiled Colon.” Emily Gail Lyles (age 24, diagnosed with achondroplasia), is known for her hyper-realistic oil paintings of doctors and hospital professionals depicted as skeletons. Lyles makes it clear that she does not resent the doctors who’ve treated her over the years but that her work is designed to reflect her terror and anxiety during her treatment; she uses a paintbrush to re-take control of her condition.

There’s also an overriding theme of surrealism on display such as 25 year old paraplegic Brian Kellet’s photo exhibit of deserted road spots, to Artur Matveichenkov (age 25, from Puerto Rico, severe hearing impairments) oil canvas of disembodied legs leaning their feet against the wall, to Jansen Smith (age 25, cerebral palsy), whose entry print features a Geisha woman riding a skateboard. There’s a sense in many of these works of ironic detachment; that things are “out of place.” It’s as if the artists are challenging you to accept imperfect and incongruity. In fact, Jansen Smith makes a point for his prints of doing one print with his left hand and then another with his right hand, which is affected by his palsy, to showcase the inconsistencies between his two hands. Smith sees this as being an empowering statement on his part believing that, “Ability is the root word in disability.”

This seems to be a common motto for the featured artists. Baltimore resident Xi Nun, 24, is impaired in both her legs and her right hand yet she creates exquisitely lovely and delicate porcelain ceramics. Krista Kusky, 23, with fibromyalgia, who specializes in black and white photos of crumbling interiors believes that, “Art is like a therapy because it takes my mind off the pain and into an alternative world.” Angela Godoy of Montgomery, Maryland who was diagnosed with hemiplegia when she was six, entitled her self portrait, done in layers of black gesso, ink, and paper, “Obstacles=Opportunity for Creative Growth.”

And D.C. native Caitlin Miller, 22, (Asperger’s Syndrome), takes black and white photos depicting persons on the autism spectrum. Miller’s work struck a nerve with me especially since I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in college; and for the record while I acknowledge that I have a disability I have never felt disabled. And I found this exhibit to be both exciting and empowering. But this exhibit I feel, is worthwhile to anyone whether disabled or not. Take a few minutes and see something new.

Smithsonian Institution’s S. Dillon Ripley Center
1100 Jefferson Drive, SW
Metro: Smithsonian Mall Exit (Blue/Orange)
Dates: Sep. 7, 2011–Jan. 22 , 2012
Open Daily, 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.