Gregory Blackstock

American, contemporary.
Born 1946, Seattle, Washington.

Gregory Blackstock was born in Seattle, Washington (USA) in 1946, long before the term Autism was widely known. Although his family was educated and of sufficient means, they were limited on how to handle his special needs. Their family physician gave him the misdiagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. He’s since not only been diagnosed with Autism, but at the rarest end of that spectrum, an Autistic Savant. Blackstock was institutionalized for some years, working with specialists, making him more functional and as one doctor described to me “less robotic”.

Gregory has worked and lived independently, most of his adult life. As a teenager he successfully held employment as a newspaper carrier, and enjoyed bowling, playing music as well as drawing in his spare time. In 1966 the Seattle Times newspaper published a photo of a then 20 year old Blackstock, holding one of his earliest drawings entitled, “The Great Caped Crusaders” featuring Batman and Batgirl surrounded by sound effects such as Bam! Bonk! Wham! Zing!

Blackstock started drawing more steadily in his 40’s and quietly amassed an entire body of work that nearly no one was aware of until years later. Upon retiring as a pot washer after 25 years of service at a posh athletic club in Seattle, he had more time to make drawings that catalogued his innermost preoccupations and unique interests.

In 2003, Blackstock’s work came to light by way of Blackstock’s first cousin hearing about a niche gallery representing “Outsiders” and submitting examples of his work. Several months later, Blackstock’s inaugural solo art exhibition, featured a select group of drawings, chosen from over 175 in newly discovered body. The drawings were haphazardly stored in his tiny Seattle apartment, most of them rolled in bundles on the floor, under his bed. In ten years, it’s become evident that nearly all of the objects Gregory chooses to put on paper, have a profound personal affect for him; mostly stemming from childhood memory and what that world looked and even sounded like. For instance, his obsession with visiting, photographing and drawing buildings and candy, from the state of Vermont, is directly linked to memory of the Maple sugar candies his Grandmother Blackstock gave him as a boy. Vermont is the most recognized state in the U.S. for the maple sugar industry. Some subjects of his drawings are of a more current influence however, such as the dog breed drawings. Blackstock has affection and adoration for dogs but due to his Autism is unable to care for a pet. If he sees a person walking or petting a dog, he takes great interest and dogs frequently come up in conversation. He can recite the entire Disney movie “Lady and The Tramp” word for word.

- Courtesy Garde Rail Gallery

Biography

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