Art with heart. BZTAT Studios honors late artist with disabilities with exhibition

CANTON ? Vicki Boatright recalls visiting artist Scott Simler when he was in the hospital fighting a rare form of cancer last spring.

Boatright, owner of BZTAT Studios, had instructed and worked with Simler dating to the pandemic through a program for artists with disabilities.

But as his illness became more serious, she planned a retrospective art exhibition showcasing Simler's paintings. Boatright hoped he would be alive to see it.

Emotions gripped her as she recalled telling Simler about the art show.

"He smiled and said, 'I really like that idea.'"

Simler died on April 28.

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'I made a promise to him, and this is fulfilling that promise.'

The Massillon native was a popular and beloved local professional artist whose work had been featured at Just Imagine, which offers an art program by TWi. The regional disability services provider empowers adult artists with developmental disabilities to discover their creative side.

"I made a promise to him, and this is fulfilling that promise," Boatright said of the art show. "I miss him terribly, and I miss the fact that there won't be any more of Scott's artworks, but I look at the breadth of (Simler's artwork that) we have, and I'm like, 'What more could I ask for?'"

The Scott Simler Retrospective Art Exhibition will open at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and run through Aug. 3 at BZTAT Studios, located inside Canton Creator Space, 730 Market Ave. S.

Who was Scott Simler?

Simler was a 42-year-old Jackson Township resident.

From a young age, he demonstrated artistic curiosity, overcoming physical and intellectual challenges to pursue his creative passions, Boatright said.

She first provided art instruction to Simler in 2020 through Just Imagine by TWi, and then in 2023 through BZTAT Studios and her Artist 2 Artist Collective.

Simler's mother, Kathy Wiskofske, said art played an important role in his life.

"He would spend hours doing these paint-by-number kinds of things when he was little," she recalled. "He always liked to do that."

Family members were artists, too, which influenced Simler.

Born with spina bifida, he graduated from Massillon's Washington High School in 2001.

Just Imagine by TWi is where Simler's interest in art grew, Wiskofske said. His paintings and ceramic works also were being noticed by friends and the broader community, she said.

"He was very excited about it," Wiskofske said. "And he was very proud, but as a whole, Scott was kind of a humble person. He never really bragged about himself."

In 2022, Simler's artwork was featured in a solo show at Cyrus Custom Framing & Art Gallery, “Super Scott’s Magical Mashed Up World." His work also was presented in group art shows, including at the Massillon Museum.

Boatright said the artwork of creators with disabilities is often overlooked within the realm of contemporary art.

"I think that his work is important because he was an artist like I'm an artist," she said of Simler. "His disability, I think, changed the way he looked at life and changed the way he perceived things, but it didn't make his approach to art any less important or inferior in any way.

"I think every artist brings whatever life experience they have to what they do, even if their artwork isn't necessarily expressive of their experience," Boatright said. "It somehow reflects their worldview, their approach to life and their experiences that bring reality to that, and so a person with disabilities is no different."

Profound art exhibition: 'He won't be forgotten.'

Simler's artwork was influenced by immortals like Picasso and van Gogh. Known for his beaming smile and positive outlook on life, he also enjoyed nature, family and sports. And he was a big fan of Massillon Tigers football.

"He was always happy," Wiskofske said. "Most times in his pictures, you could see things were happy."

Mash-up art was a signature of Simler's brush strokes. Paintings were filled with characters and detail while often exploding with color. Playful and whimsical scenes were another hallmark.

"Scott would look at the paintings of Picasso and van Gogh and be inspired by the way they painted and the way they created a design," Boatright said. "But then he would take it off in his own direction."

More than 20 pieces of art will be featured in the exhibition. Artwork is being loaned by those who owned pieces or collected Simler's paintings.

"I think it will probably be the most profound for me of any shows I've put on," Boatright said.

"I think this is an exhibit that honors and values (those with disabilities) as a community and as a whole in addition to honoring a specific individual who is important."

Wiskofske was moved to tears when describing what the art show means to her and others.

"When they see his artwork, they'll remember him and what a nice person he was," she said. "And the art makes them feel happy.

"He won't be forgotten," Wiskofske added. "Not just by his family, but other people, too."

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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Tribute art show for Scott Simler opening at BZTAT in downtown Canton