WILD GOOSE: Landscape Paintings by Interact Center Artists
Author: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
Published: 27 Mar 2021 - Updated: 4 Nov 2026
Publication Type: Announcement
Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Overview - FAQs - Insights, Updates - Related Content
Synopsis
This information describes WILD GOOSE, a 2021 online exhibition from Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that paired landscape paintings by Interact artist Carl Clark with work by New York artist Jack Arthur Wood Jr. It explains how the pandemic shaped both artists' work, their contrasting styles and backgrounds, and the role of Interact, founded in 1996, in supporting more than 120 artists with and without disabilities. The page is useful for artists with disabilities, art lovers, families and disability service providers interested in inclusive arts studios.*
At a Glance
- 1 - Carl Clark has practiced at Interact since 2016.
- 2 - The exhibition title comes from a Gram Parsons song.
- 3 - Wood layers paper scraps, muslin and linen, sometimes with strips of a favorite garment.
- 4 - Clark's Morning Stone was the first painting he made at the desk in his room during the pandemic.
Topic Definition
- Disability Arts Studio
A disability arts studio is a workspace and support program where artists with intellectual, developmental or other disabilities make art professionally, with access to materials, studio time, mentoring and opportunities to exhibit and sell their work. Some studios also include artists without disabilities, and many run galleries, performances and online programs that challenge stereotypes about disability.
Overview
WILD GOOSE was a 2021 online exhibition from Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that paired the landscape paintings of two artists, Carl Clark and Jack Arthur Wood Jr. Made while the COVID-19 pandemic kept people apart, the work explored longing, distance and connection, and it showed how a disability arts studio kept its artists working and seen when galleries closed.
About the Exhibition
WILD GOOSE brought together two painters working hundreds of miles apart. Carl Clark painted at home in Minneapolis during Interact's online studio hours, while Jack Arthur Wood Jr. worked in his studio in Queens, New York [Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, 2021]. According to Interact, the title comes from a line in the Gram Parsons song A Song for You. The paintings move through fuchsia landscapes and bright, dreamlike horizons, imagined escapes from the city.
The pandemic changed how both artists used space. When New York shut down in the spring of 2020, Wood painted as a way to escape. For Clark, working from home blurred the line between studio hours and family life, and the show included Morning Stone, a 2021 painting of a sunrise that was the first piece he made at the desk in his room. Seen together, the two bodies of work reach toward each other across the distance, finding common ground in the sense of longing many people felt during lockdowns.
Two Approaches to Landscape
Clark takes a measured, practical approach, filling wide skies and seas with even, steady marks. His paintings are stark and flat, with dramatic shifts in scale. Wood works more experimentally, building up each surface with layers of paper scraps, muslin and linen, sometimes adding strips cut from a favorite piece of clothing.
The Artists
Carl Clark has practiced at Interact since 2016. His work has appeared in exhibitions across the Twin Cities, including We Are Not Disposable (2020), Randomland at The White Page (2019) and Groundswell at Artspace Jackson Flats (2019), and it is held in private collections in the United States and abroad.
Jack Arthur Wood Jr. is a visual artist and educator based in Queens, New York. He earned a bachelor's degree in printmaking from Guilford College in 2012 and a Master of Fine Arts from Texas A and M University-Corpus Christi in 2017. He has been an artist in residence at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, a printmaking and education fellow at the Wassaic Project, and a fellow at the Little Bear Hill Post Digital Printmaking Residency.
About Interact Center
Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts is a visual arts studio and theater company whose work challenges perceptions of disability. It was founded in 1996 by artist Jeanne Calvit, and it brings artists with and without disabilities together to make professional art and theater, supporting more than 120 working artists [Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, 2021]. When the pandemic closed its studios, Interact moved its studio hours and performances online, including its Zoomtopia theater production.
Studios like Interact give artists with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities space, materials, mentoring and a route to exhibitions and sales, so their work is judged as art rather than as therapy. More examples of disability art and artists can be found on Disabled World.
Accessibility
Interact said it aimed to make its programs welcoming and accessible to everyone, and it invited visitors to suggest anything that would make an exhibition easier to experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
NOTE: Researched FAQs by Disabled World (DW)
What is Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts?
It is a nonprofit arts studio and theater company in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where artists with and without disabilities make art and theater together.
Can artists with intellectual disabilities sell their work?
Yes. Many sell through studio galleries, exhibitions, online shops and commissions, and some studios help them manage sales and earnings.
How did arts studios adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Many moved studio hours, classes and exhibitions online, delivered art supplies to homes and used video calls to keep artists working together.
What is the difference between art therapy and a disability arts studio?
Art therapy uses art to meet treatment goals with a therapist, while a disability arts studio supports artists to develop and show their work as professionals.
How can someone find a disability arts program near them?
Disability service agencies, state arts councils, local arts centers and disability advocacy groups can point to studios and inclusive classes.
Are online exhibitions accessible to people with disabilities?
They can be when images have text descriptions, videos are captioned and websites work with screen readers and keyboard navigation.
How can people support artists with disabilities?
People can visit exhibitions, buy or commission work, share artists' work online and support studios through donations or volunteering.
What materials do mixed media artists use?
Mixed media artists combine materials such as paint, paper, fabric, found objects and printmaking to build up layered surfaces.
References
- Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. (2021). WILD GOOSE: An online exhibition of work by Carl Clark and Jack Arthur Wood Jr. [Exhibition announcement].
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: Disability arts studios such as Interact treat their members as working artists, with exhibitions, sales and collaborations, and WILD GOOSE shows how that model held up when the pandemic closed studios and galleries. Moving studio hours online kept artists painting and connected, and an online exhibition let their work reach viewers who might never visit a gallery in person, including people with disabilities who find galleries hard to access. For families and support workers, studios like this offer a path to creative careers and community rather than art as an activity alone.*
Attribution/Source(s): This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally issued as a press release by Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts and published on 27 Mar 2021. Last updated on 4 Nov 2026. This content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.
* Editorial additions by Ian C. Langtree.