The Art of Belief Opening Reception

From the venue:

The Sun ATL, 399 Edgewood Ave, Atlanta GA 30312, presents "The Art of Belief," bringing together original works by two of the South's most compelling self-taught artists: Howard Finster (1916-2001) and Harry Underwood (1969-present), opening September 6, 2025 during the Edgewood Art Walk from 5-8 PM. Both artists share a profound commitment to integrating text and image, creating works that function as visual art and written testimony about the human experience.

Harry Underwood, who has exhibited at the Outsider Art Fair in New York since 2008, first encountered Finster through his famous Johnny Carson appearance. When he saw Finster's paintings in person around 2000, he was inspired by their use of plywood as canvas and text-laden surfaces, and began creating his own works on wood panels using house paint and No. 2 pencils.

Underwood's work blends realism, surrealism, and pop art, drawing influences from artists like Paul Gauguin and Salvador Dalí, as well as Federico Fellini's films and Kurt Vonnegut's novels. Raised among "religious people, preachers, bigots, eccentrics," he explores faith through a deeply personal lens, noting "I don't think God can be understood within a group nowadays."

Both artists demonstrate how Southern outsider art can bridge the sacred and secular through the integration of text with imagery. The exhibition opens at The Sun ATL, located in Sweet Auburn between three historic Baptist churches - Ebenezer, Wheat Street, and Liberty.