By Kelsey Ligon
John Tran hasn’t said a word in his 14 years of life, but he is making a big statement to the world through his art, on display at the SullivanMunce Cultural Center in downtown Zionsville through Feb. 20.
The Carmel resident is on the autism spectrum and unable to speak. But his paintings, described by his teacher as “full of personality,” have helped him find a voice.
The exhibit comes a year after he started painting, and in that year, he has shown dramatic improvements in his control, focus and communication, all of which are skills that children on the autism spectrum often find difficult to master.
His teacher, Kathy Lloyd with Art Without Boundaries, said John’s straight lines along the bottoms of the painting are the boundaries he draws for himself, while the rest is composed of swoops of complementary colors.
John’s father, Steve Tran, was at the opening of the exhibit on Jan. 16, and he said that his son “puts himself completely in the painting.” The paintings are an opportunity for family, friends, and strangers to look deeper inside John’s mind, he added.
The show has been put on in part by the Autism Parent Care School in Carmel, which John attends a few days of the week. The school offers natural environment training, behavior analysis and brain mapping.
Dr. Jane Yip, the clinical director of the school, conducted a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the exhibit.
“Currently we look at people with disabilities as people to shut away,” Yip said during the ceremony. “Instead we need to utilize them and show their talents.”
This exhibit is the fourth in John’s career, and each sale goes into a trust fund for him to use as an adult. Most of the paintings are between $75 and $200.
