The Art of Autism: A Different Lens
- Democracy Chain
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
by Liz Goldner
Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, California
Continuing through August 3, 2025
Most artists we observe and read about, past and present, are far from conventional in their thinking and approaches to life and art. Due to their atypical thinking, they are able to extract from their environment abstract, surreal and/or impressionistic visions, and they turn these visions into creations that can stir viewers to new levels of understanding about the world. Displaying this kind of out-of-the-box thinking and execution, the nearly two dozen artists represented in the “Art of Autism” sponsored by the San Diego-based non-profit of the same name, contribute colorful, humorous, thoughtful, well wrought artworks.
Nicholas Kontaxis, a self-taught Greek painter based in Palm Springs, presents colorful large-scale, abstract canvases, composed of acrylics, ink, oils, gouache, spices, ash, coffee, dirt and more. Working in several styles of abstraction, Kontaxis includes in his paintings striated strokes of paint, circular blobs, and a grid system of different colors with pointillist strokes and hieroglyphic markings. “Meant to Be” (2019), a large acrylic, is a garden of multi-colored squares.
The paintings of Jeremy Sicile-Kira, also abstract and colorful, are built up from broad strokes of paint. Immersing oneself in the personal visions of the artist is to experience the manifestation of his dreams, which he describes as the foundation of his work. Sicile-Kira’s inspirations include seeing peoples’ faces not as expressions, but as the colors of a rainbow. Listening to music and hearing people’s voices also stimulate his creativity and become the genesis of his canvasses, which he paints with the intention to give his viewers hope. “The Greatly Beautiful Colors of My Future Life” (2020) features colorful starbursts that beckon us to engage his unusual world.
The painterly figurations of Carissa Mordeno Paccerelli are childlike phantasmagorical impressions of children, school kids, faces both happy and sad, spiritual figures, robotic figures and teddy bears. Paccerelli began developing her artistic skills because she had difficulty talking to people, but conveyed her feelings through artmaking. “Nostalgia” (2020) is a composite of several favored images, including teddy bears, toy shmoos and a small ghost, all floating in an abstract heavenly space.
Austin John Jones uses his traditional art training (he earned a degree from Art Center College of Design) to create a variety of thoughtful digital and acrylic paintings. His humorous renditions of faces, children, animals, imaginary creatures — seemingly inspired by cartoons — appear to regard the world from curious, adventurous and bemused perspectives. His adult-focused paintings of people and animals combine sardonic wit with a more serious perspective. “A Cruel Mind” (2024) depicts a sarcastic face laughing at something outside the canvas, while a drawing within the face’s brain reveals a boy shielding himself. As a personal image, the sarcastic face is an outward attempt to hide the fears within.
Other notable work here includes fiber art by Brendan Kerr, an abstract self-portrait by Alex Nichols, humorous plastic toys and paintings of toys by Joel Anderson, and a photo of a surfer by Spencer Brown.
The art in this exhibition compares favorably in theme, vision and technique to much mainstream work seen in local galleries and museums. The depth of the artists’ humanity illustrates how people on the autism spectrum can thrive in this world, and thereby give to others, especially when nurtured by family and community.
Liz Goldner is an award-winning art writer based in Laguna Beach. She has contributed to the LA Times, LA Weekly, KCET Artbound, Artillery, AICA-USA Magazine, Orange County Register, Art Ltd. and several other print and online publications. She has written reviews for ArtScene and Visual Art Source since 2009.
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