'Outsider artist' finds promoter for his work at Hanover Park Park District

One day in June, Raul Maldonado came into the Hanover Park Park District Community Center to inquire about art classes. He also asked if he could use the building's Church Street vestibule floor to lay out a multipart drawing which he didn't have space to display in his Hanover Park apartment.

"He was carrying a garbage bag full of poster boards," said Susan Matthews, park district arts coordinator. "I watched him assemble the piece, an amazing large-scale black and white combination of images from anime graphics, popular culture, Mexican themes and graffiti done entirely with black pencil on sheets of poster board. The piece measured over 10 feet in height."

The two talked, and Maldonado showed other examples of his work stored on his mobile phone. Matthews invited him to do a show at the community center's gallery, 1919 Walnut Ave.

A public reception is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. today. The exhibit runs through Oct. 1.

"This is my first time doing this," said Maldonado, 25, who makes his living as a mover.

The self-taught artist called his work a hobby, though it's one he's dedicated to, spending several hours weekdays working on it and all day on weekends. He even has an assistant, Humberto Ortiz, who helps him fill in the work with Prismacolor pencils.

Drawn by anime and cartoons to try his hand at his own creations, he said he hopes his work is an inspiration to youth that there are more productive outlets in life than drugs and gangs.

"Maybe I'm not a professional, but I do this because I love doing it," he said.

Matthews said Maldonado is in the top two of her finds among community artists in more than 20 years of programming the gallery as part of her job with the park district arts program.

Her husband, Mark Pascale, a curator in the department of prints and drawings at the Art Institute, currently is putting together an exhibit opening Oct. 10 featuring James Castle, who also had no formal training.

Maldonado "is doing exactly what those guys do," Matthews said, in taking ideas from ads, pop culture and other sources and reworking them into a personal statement. She said the "outsider artist" is a currently hot part of the art world.

"Collectors and museums are recognizing the freshness and uniqueness of vision found in the work of someone who has not gone through traditional art school," she said, calling Maldonado's work fantastic.

"This guy is one of a kind. He is completely untrained, yet he is producing totally impressive work. All the young people, especially boys, in the area should see this show for its inspiration, creativity and plain hard work."

Space limitations in his apartment led Maldonado to compose his large-scale works on 22-by-28-inch pieces of poster board, completing one board at a time at his drawing table and numbering them. He then assembles dozens of boards into works that can stretch 15 feet that he can display or photograph.

"I love to draw big," he said.

The gallery is generally open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. At other times, a key is available from the building receptionist.