Gordon Coldwell
The circus, clowns and acrobats have long been the subjects of artists, famously Seurat, Picasso and Sir Peter Blake etc. The notion of a circus… its human and animal performers, its traditions, its routines and big top-circus ring entertainment arena seem at odds with how, for example, clowns are more often than not portrayed in the arts as melancholic, lost or freakish. Clowns even have their own phobia: Coulrophobia. During the past year I have produced a number of artworks that collectively all into the category of The Circus & Clowns – see examples below. For me most of these compositions have a discomforting feel of fears and phobias.
