Over a period of about 25 years, American artist Forrest Bess lived and worked at a remote fishing camp in East Texas, making paintings based on personal dreams and visions. Sometimes mislabeled an “outsider” artist because of his remote residence and largely self-taught practice, throughout his life Bess maintained active correspondence with members of the mid-century art world, including his renowned gallerist, Betty Parsons. It is through these letters that we know so much about Bess’s life and practice, including his queer identity, theories about gender and immortality, and the isolation he often felt as an artist-fisherman on the Gulf Coast. His colorful, abstract paintings often incorporate symbols Bess felt could enable alternative states of consciousness for artist and viewer alike.

–Kevin McDonald, from the Glenstone Field Guide