Creativity Explored, the premier nonprofit visual art gallery and studio for artists with developmental disabilities, is pleased to announce FULL STOP!, an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Claus Groeger, Corine Raper, and Hung Kei Shiu. All three artists are, for the most part, nonverbal, but use mark making as a mode of expression.

The artists’ respective methods may appear as an impulsive mark, but upon closer examination they demonstrate a deep understanding of composition, color, and movement. For example, Groeger’s lines often flow off the paper functioning as an extension of his curiosity, while Raper keeps her gestural line work within the boundaries of the page serving as a reflection of her concentration. In contrast, Shiu delicately crafts dreamy colored fields of line work into assembled patterns.

Curators and Visual Arts Instructors Amanda Eicher and Hannah Grace Lilly also included collaborative line drawn and painted works (Untitled, 2016, mixed media on paper, 16 x 20 inches) that Groeger, Raper, and Shiu created for this exhibition. Lilly remarks, “there is something so quiet about the three artists, but something so incredibly loud about their artwork.”

Claus Groeger (b. 1953) has been making art as a studio artist at Creativity Explored since 1999. After a decade of making mixed media constructions from found objects, the artist recently settled into making abstract paintings and drawings. Groeger is constantly engrossed in art making. His repetitive mark making is central to his earlier tactile process, and acts as a therapeutic outlet. This is exemplified in works like, Untitled, 2011, watercolor on paper, 11.5 x 13.5 inches.

Whether using pastel or paint, Corine Raper’s (b.1992) work captures the energy of her gestural movements. Raper approaches each blank piece of paper with a focused intensity. This is evident in works like, Untitled, 2016, mixed media on paper, 16 x 20 inches, where Raper furiously draws in a concentrated circular motion. Playing with composition and density of color, Raper's abstract drawings have a chaotic intensity that is reflective of her art making process.

Hung Kei Shiu (b. 1962) is known for his tiny marks that are often a small-hatched line segment, miniscule circle, or a short block of color. Being a nonverbal Chinese immigrant, Shiu learned to communicate on his own creative terms in the Creativity Explored studio. He created a singular artistic language through mark making drawings, some of which appear over fields of color. In works like, Untitled, 2016, acrylic and marker on paper, 22 x 30 inches, Shiu transforms his fine line work motifs into a visual harmonic symphony. Shiu has exhibited in Outside In: The Art of Inclusion, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland in 2013 and : / - Mark : / - Mark : / - Mark : / -, Baer Ridgeway Exhibitions, San Francisco, CA, in 2011.