BEST BET

Colorful acrylic portraits. Collages in red, blue and peach. Abstract charcoal drawings. A richly detailed portrait of a woman in robes of purple, pink and brown.

The works on display this month at Claremont’s First Street Gallery Art Center are inventive and out of the ordinary.

So are the artists.

The exhibit, “Creativity Unlimited,” is composed of works by developmentally disabled adults from a San Jose art studio.

People with such disabilities often make great artists, said Catherine Perillo, program director of the Claremont art gallery, which is designed to develop artistic potential in the developmentally disabled.

“The public is often surprised to see how talented these people are,” she said. “The developmentally disabled population on the whole is extremely creative. We’re tapping into that.”

At the First Street Gallery, disabled adults learn painting, drawing, printing and ceramics from professional art instructors.

The gallery was opened in November with a grant from the San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center, a nonprofit private corporation that contracts with the state to provide services to developmentally disabled persons and their families, Perillo said.

The art program is an alternative to the traditional activity centers for developmentally disabled people that feature tutoring in academic and social skills or employment training, Perillo said.

The “Creativity Unlimited” show will continue through Aug. 31. It is on display Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. at the First Street Gallery, 250 W. 1st St., Suite 100, Claremont.