Arts & Entertainment

Legally Blind Artist Exhibits New Paintings at Bwe Kafe

Bwe Kafe, located at 1002 Washington St., will have the artwork of painter Tim Lefens on display through November.

The most recent work of accomplished blind artist Tim Lefens is on display through November in the gallery at Bwe Kafe.

Lefens, who lost his eyesight to retinitis pigmentosa more than a decade ago but has continued painting through the use of "ingenious" methods, has spent the past 18 years helping people with severe physical disabilities express themselves artistically.

Through his non-profit A.R.T, which stands for Artistic Realization Technologies, Lefens has created various innovative technologies that give people who cannot walk, talk or use their hands a way to paint, sculpt, create art photography and make music.

By 2013, A.R.T. had expanded to 27 programs in 11 states across the country with program participants from New Jersey having exhibited at the Princeton University Art Museum and MOCA, among other art museums.

Bwe Kafe owner Maryanne Fike said the response to Lefens' own work, which has taken a back seat to his A.R.T. efforts for the past 18 years, has been "overwhelming."


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