1999-2000 Retrospective Sculpture & Ceramics, Page 2, Page 3
John Coffiel, "Father Nature" (1)	John Coffiel: "People with a disability are sometimes looked at as frail or not fit to be used (like a square peg in a round hole). But my disability is what gives me the advantage. Who is to say who is disabled? If Steve Wonder wasn't blind, he wouldn't be able to create such great music. Blind -- what a gift!" John Coffiel began his career about twenty-three years ago while living in Okinawa, Japan as a member of the United States Marine Corps. Prior to serving in the Marine Corps, he had trained in painting, sculpting, and woodcarving at the New Muse School of Art. His training had earned him the duties of illustration and graphic arts. During his service, he received a commission for a family portrait from his company commander, a venture that launched his artistic career. Coffiel soon became well regarded for his work, was given high rank, and was awarded an honorable discharge in 1980. Coffiel has since worked as a freelance artist and is currently an outpatient at the Manhattan VA Medical Center. Though diagnosed as schizophrenic, his career as an artist does not suffer. He attributes his talent and success to the Lord, and signs all of his work "Done By God's Grace." In addition to Nexus Gallery, Coffiel has exhibited around the New York City area at the Cork Gallery in Lincoln Center, at the NY Veterans Administration Headquarters, and at the Times Square Building, as well as in Queens, NY, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin.
Leon Gass, "Scotty" (2)	Leon Gass is a former tank mechanic for the U.S. Army who resides in East Peoria, Illinois. A self-taught artist, he has been an active arts instructor for veterans at the Danville VA Medical Center and for several otherVSA arts of Illinois programs and festivals. Gass' specialty is wood carving. " Each piece of wood has a spirit that directs me in the shape and form to be carved," he says. Gass' work can be found in his Peoria gallery and in various collections throughout the United States.
Leon Gass, "Grandfather" (3)
Sol Landau, "Girl Playing Dress-up" (4)	Sol Landau served in the U.S. Infantry during World War II in Burma and China. After the war, he worked in the New York City Parks Department. Upon his retirement in 1976, Landau studied at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, where he discovered his favorite medium of wood. A participant of the VA/ VSA arts program at the Manhattan VA Medical Center, he creates a variety of wood sculptures based almost entirely on real life incidents. Landau was selected for an exhibition titled "Outsider Art -- from Art Brut to Neuve Invention" at the Limner Gallery in New York City. Sol also has exhibited several works at the Museum of American Folk Art in New York.
Sol Landau, "I Saw It First" (5)