Fri 7/21 @ 5-9PM
The Ringling Brothers Circus may have folded its tents this year, a victim of changing ideas about what constitutes entertainment. But, like so many cultural manifestations from an earlier time, it evokes a certain nostalgia, mystery and curiosity. That will be reflected in Step Right Up!, a group show featuring more than 40 artists opening at E11even2 Gallery at 78th Street Studios during the Third Friday Art Walk.
“Exhibiting artists were invited to create new work for this exhibit that leaned toward the nostalgic or surreal and drew heavily on their childhood memories: that magical time when things loomed larger, brighter, and more colorful,” says exhibit curator Leslie Edwards Humez. “Where the element of surprise provoked involuntary shivers, amusement parks rocked, and carnival kisses cost a buck. In STEP RIGHT UP, there will be work with a sunlit perspective that highlights fun foods, midway wheels-of-chance, thrill rides, blue-ribbon competitions and more. Or (thanks to Cher) the work may sneak a peek at the edgy side of the traveling show with its gypsies, tramps and thieves who beckon us with crooked fingers into that unsettling neon space where flim-flam rules and fortune-tellers, floozies and freaks hide behind midnight faces.”
Cleveland, OH 44102