The hundreds of people who visit the Jerusalem Theater each day for plays, concerts or a coffee now have the chance to view an exhibition of colorful, distinctive paintings created collaboratively by young adults with autism from the Kfar Shimon residential facility near Beit Shemesh.
The exhibition, titled “Feelings in Between,” offers visitors a glimpse into the inner worlds of the artists, some of whom are nonverbal.
“They have a lot going on in their minds that they can’t always express verbally,” Hannah Brown, film critic for The Jerusalem Post whose son Danny is one of the artists, told JNS. “Some of these people rarely speak—maybe a word or two. They can’t tell you why they painted what they painted, but the pictures really speak for themselves. They have these incredible inner worlds, and they can show people what they have inside through their art.”
Danny Yovell, 30, has long been fascinated by colorful ceiling fans, which appear in several of the paintings. His mother said the fact that between two and five people worked on each piece is especially significant because it challenges common stereotypes about autism. She credited Israeli artist Nvo Sevori, who teaches at Kfar Shimon, with developing the collaborative concept.
“I love these pictures because they worked on them together,” she said. “People on the spectrum supposedly don’t care about other people and aren’t interested in other people, and they really do collaborate and work together.”
At the exhibition’s opening reception, the artists and their families mingled as they sipped wine, enjoyed slices of watermelon and admired the paintings displayed on two floors of the theater.
‘It’s beautiful art’
Kfar Shimon director Oded Korati could hardly contain his pride.
“It’s beautiful art, and it’s wonderful that it is hung in this great place where hundreds of people pass by every day,” he told JNS. “If they were to meet the artists on the street, they might think they are totally disconnected—that you can’t speak to them, you can’t understand what they want, you wonder, do they even feel anything?
“This is a way to say they feel a lot, they think a lot, they have a rich world that can be expressed to others, and their worlds can interact. They may not interact by hugging or having long, deep talks, but they have their ways, and this exhibition captures that.”
Korati said Kfar Shimon is home to 28 residents and is completing a new building that will accommodate 12 additional residents, beginning in September.
The exhibition also offers Israelis an opportunity to better understand adults with autism.
“Any art that is in public spaces affects the public and puts the subject on the radar of anyone who sees it,” artist Yair Medina, who knows several of the Kfar Shimon residents, told JNS. “It stays in the collective subconscious, and especially in these times, when people do not always have the emotional resources to treat others with the patience and empathy they deserve, it’s a great thing. Besides that, it’s great art. It’s naïve, unconscious art—created by untrained and untouched artists in many ways. It’s a pure expression of the soul.”
