Henry Orlik b. 1947
Framed 49.5 cm. x W. 49.5 cm., H. 19 1/2 in. x W. 19 1/2 in.
All elements of the fairground and circus are combined in Orlik’s exuberant and energetic drawing Fairground. At the top of the drawing, a tightrope is ridden along by a clown’s unicycle, its handlebars and saddle ride alongside it; tumblers which are like spring jack-in-the-box, take the eye down the side of the drawing to a drum with a face and drumsticks as arms, leading around to a leaping clown dog which is also a table or chair; a woman with a fancy hat appears from shapes and a central acrobatic figure is formed from a wall by a central wall with a window at its centre. The shapes turn into figures in an Alice in Wonderland-like carnival of energy and surreal creation.