Humor Arts Museum

Beloved
Cartoons

Painting
1700 To Today

Art By
Karen E. Gersch

PABLO ROIG

Cirque | 1911

Limited edition color lithograph |  19 x 14" |  NFS

Collection of Karen Gersch 

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Greatly influenced by Toulouse Lautrec and Degas, ROIG

added his own delicate touch to the paintings and lithographs he created. As an acrobat, I appreciate the well-aligned and perfectly balanced head-to- head trick he depicts here. The loose arms and straddled legs indicates his knowledge of form and acrobatic prowess.

MIA WOLFF

Circus Trunk | 1991

Oil on linen | 40 x 60" | $7,000 | Buy

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With a dramatic, vivid palette, Wolff has created a stunning

portrait of her own steamer trunk with many-hued costumes spilling forth, from her travels as a catcher in a trapeze act. All of the sequined, rhinestoned outfits were designed and sewn by her partner Donna Orosz.

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KAREN E. GERSCH

Chair Balancer | 2001      

Ink on paper | 9 x 12" | $400 | Buy

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For 26 years, I attended the Circus Festival in Paris (Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain), sketching live every act that graced the ring. Hand balancers who held their poses were my favorite, as it gave me seconds more to capture them in seemingly single strokes with my pen.

PAUL GUTHEIL

Gordoon

Color photograph | 8 x 10" unframed | $50 | Buy

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If there is a single clown who captured the hearts of Big Apple Circus audiences, as well as Gutheil’s discerning eye, it is Jeff Gordon,

a.k.a. Gordoon. For more than a decade, his antics and ingenious physical comedy delighted everyone under the little top.

KAREN E. GERSCH
Annie | 2021
Graphite, acrylic and ink on Ingres paper| 9 x 12" | $500 | Buy 
    

I first saw Annie Fratellini in Paris, performing with her students and the faculty of her French Circus School. The show made me weep, being so beautifully choreographed and emotive. Annie reminds me of Fellini’s wife who played Gelsomina in “La Strada”: an elfin or urchin-like quality both women share.

PAUL KLEE
Traveling Circus | 1937
Oil on canvas | NFS

Collection of Baltimore Museum of Art

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Abstract and kooky, but its minimally-placed figures are definitely circus characters, let alone the wonderful textural background and use of color. One might imagine all the tiny circles that compose the background as audience members watching the show.

JEFF RABILLON | PAT BELLAND (clown)

At the Salon

Black/white  photograph | 8 x 10" unframed | $75 | Buy

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Rabillon catches the exact moment in each of his photos that makes us laugh at the situation. Pat has assumed the role of haircutter; his customer fully amused and enjoying the surprise.

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PHILOMENA MARANO

Umbrella Leap | 2022

Mixed media | 17 x 5.5" | $900 | Buy

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I will confess - this is not a trick I have ever seen performed! I don’t doubt Marano’s depiction - it a remarkable feat and I am quite impressed, both by her signature color sense and simple shapes that so well create the mood and tension.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

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PAT BELLAND

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Renaissance man Belland is a sculptor, writer, theater director and clown. He has been a cook and led a youth hostel; all of which have given him a good sense and feeling for people. A longtime circus Ringmaster and Tent Master (we worked a french circus together in the 70’s and 80’s), his clown is an Everyman soul, connecting humanity with each other and delighting all in the process.

FERNANDO BOTERO

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Born in Medelin, Columbia, Botero is a figurative artist and sculptor, known for his signature oversized individuals of exaggerated volume.  "Boterismo" became a national symbolic term for his style, which often represents political criticism or humor.  As a youth, Botero's uncle wanted him to be a matador and paid for his training.  But an illustration published in the biggest newspaper in the country allowed him to pursue his artistic dreams.  He is considered the most recognized and quoted living artist from Latin America.  

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JOSIAH H. DEARBORN

A Silversmith and Industrial Designer, whose mother and grandmother were accomplished painters; Dearborn made his first silver piece at the age of 17.  His formal studies include Silvermine School of Art, John Hopkins University and graduate work at Pratt Institute; he holds a degree in Industrial Design from Parsons in NYC.  A designer for Ed Schlossberg Inc., he was part of the design team for the Queens Science Museum, responsible for many of their interactive and audio exhibits.  In 1995, his silver dragon tea caddy won the prestigious Fellisimo/NYFA Art & Design Award. He created 180 audio earrings for Laurie Anderson, which were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and prominent galleries.  Dearborn's work has been included in such publications as: Parkett Art Magazine, Metalsmith Magazine and the Society of North American Goldsmiths.  

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KAREN E. GERSCH

Website: Art by KarenEGersch

Enamored of circus since childhood, Gersch has spent a lifetime drawing, painting and performing in shows nationally and internationally.  She has a BFA with Honors from Pratt Institute and is Russian-trained as an acrobatic understander.  Aside from continuing to paint and exhibit, she directs full-length theatrical productions and curates large-scale art exhibitions.  Gersch's historical visual lecture: "A Brush with History: Art in Circus & Circus in Art" has been presented at Sherbrooke University, The Cahoon Museum of American Art, The Rooms Art Museum in Newfoundland and recently, for the Contemporary Circus and Immersive Arts Center in Troy, New York.   

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PAUL GUTHEIL

Paul saw his first circus in 1948 at the age of six; two years later he took his first photo - of an elephant. Both experiences instilled a deep, lifelong love for circus and photography. Some of his early images were of famed animal trainer Gunther Gebel Williams performing at Madison Sq. Garden (his professional photography career took off in 1969, although he admits that it wasn't until a 1976 visit to Hoxie Great American Circus, that he developed a serious interest in documenting circus).  A member of Circus Fans of America and the Circus Historical Society, he was soon touring and developing personal relationships with all the shows, assisted by his wife Dianne, who supported his passion and focus. Says Paul: "It's the people: fans, show owners, producers, performers, workers, musicians, prop and ring crew staffs that allow me into their lives and by doing so, make my work possible.  If I have ever taken a good circus photo, it is thanks to them, and I am deeply grateful and blessed".

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PAUL KLEE  (1879-1940)

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The surrealist Swiss-German artist Klee, had a passion for the performing arts - from opera to puppetry - and certainly circus.  At the age of 36, he was consigned to serve as a soldier in the German Reich, but spared the horrors of the front; mostly doing desk work.  In this way, he was able to continue his art work, letting it express his frustrations and responses to the trauma of war.  His work inspired a host of famous American abstract artists: Jackson Pollock, Adolph Gottlieb and Robert Motherwell, to name a few.

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DAME LAURA KNIGHT

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This titled British painter is the most famed circus artist in her country.  She was well known for her portraits and scenic works before her role as court artist for the Nuremberg Trials; an experience that had a tremendous toll on her.  Afterwards, she immersed herself in circus, traveling for several years with small shows, making live studies of performers in their natural light and settings.  She is known for her detail of color and composition, vividly capturing the ambiance and drama of actual scenes both backlot and in the ring.  

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CELSO LAGAR  (1891-1966)

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The son of a religious sculptor, Lagar was born in Spain in 1891 and in his youth, apprenticed in woodworking with his father.  After studying painting in Barcelona, he moved to Paris in 1912 and like so many artists, became intrigued with circus. Because he suffered from Depression, being around rings of brightly, focused activity cheered him immensely. His work has now been collected in many museums, but back then, he was mostly dependent on his wife - a French sculptor.

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PHILOMENA MARANO 

Website: Philomena Marano

Philomena Marano was born in Brooklyn and holds a BFA from Pratt Institute. An enthusiast of the visual poetry of Coney Island, she created a series of cut paper works that spanned decades, in the elegant technique she learned as a studio assistant to preeminent artist Robert Indiana. After moving to Sarasota, Florida in 2017; Marano's attention shifted to the history and lore of the circus. She began a series on circus thrill shows featuring death defying feats of a local circus family, 'The Nerveless Nocks." Her work has been exhibited in and around NY including The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Coney Island Museum and ACA Galleries and in Florida at the Museum of Art in DeLand, The Art Center Sarasota  and Ringling College of Art & Design. Her work is represented in private, corporate and museum collections.

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JEF RABILLON

Website: Jef Rabillon photographe, Angers

Rabillon discovered the art of photography as a child in 1970. He turned professional in 1988, embarking on shoots for the National Dance Center of France, the Opera, Compagnie Jo Bithume, other circus, theater and musical groups. In 2015, he joined forces with Pat Belland’s project “KlownKonzept” and began accompanying him to Festivals in foreign cities and villages, to document his antics and impromptu encounters with people on the streets.

PABLO ROIG

(1879-1955) Spanish-born Roig attended the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, before traveling (he lived in Paris for two years) and exhibiting in prestigious Salons and Art Festivals.  In 1911, he published “Cirque” - a series of lithographs of circus scenes, as inspired and influenced by Toulouse Lautrec and Japanese art.  I was introduced to Roig by my good friend Shirley who gifted me with this original print she found in London.  

ELI ROSS 

Eli Ross contributed several pieces to our previous exhibition: "Contemporary Sculptors and Photographers".  He learned his craft in his youth, apprenticing to foundries run by his uncle and brother, and becoming an expert in cast resin and polymer sculpting.  These two figures are the prototypes for pieces cast and sold in the Gift Shop of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Elephants - beloved trunked giants - certainly stars of Ringling Bros. for over a hundred years - were phased out in 2016, and retired to a wildlife sanctuary in Florida.  Ross, likewise, retired to Florida years ago, where he continues to make small organic works from wood, shells and rocks he finds on beaches.  

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MIA WOLFF 

Website: http://www.wolffland.com

Mia Wolff grew up climbing trees, drawing and reading.  After art school and a period of downtown art life, she went off with the circus as a catcher in a double trapeze act.  She eventually returned to NYC and painting.  A week after signing her first book contract ("Catcher", a children's book), her son was born.  Her life then became being a Mom and painting.  Her second book was a graphic novel with Samuel Delany: "Bread and Wine".  Her third book "Above and Below: The Voyages of Virgilio" - an illustrated fable in verse - was recently published. She is currently working on a fourth book, "The Empty Lot", which is a monograph of her paintings, interwoven with an illustrated tale weaving in and out of the paintings.
 

HENRI ACHILLE ZO  (1873-1933)

Zo took up painting at an early age, having trained with his father, who was both an accomplished painter and the DIrector of Ecole des Beaux Arts de Bordeau.  Zo became intrigued by physical worlds and strove to express them: horse races, bullfighting and circus.  Not only a successful French painter, he was an illustrator of Basque ancestry.  He and his father were considered the Founders of the "Bayonne School" style, that featured Spain and bullfighting.  Zo's work was included in the Art Competitions at the 1928 and 1932 Summer Olympics, and he won many prestigious government awards.  

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