Love them or hate them, clowns will soon be haunting the entrance hall of the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. Shari Hatt’s Clown Portraits and I just want to be taken seriously as an artist open March 1.
“Clowns serve important roles in society. They permit authority to be mocked, taboos to be violated and the obscene to be celebrated,” says Jon Tupper, director of the gallery and curator of this exhibit.
“The Clown Portraits are large scale opulent colour photographs of professional clowns. Their faces speak to their complex role in our society and their ability to invoke fear in both children and adults,” Tupper adds.
In the video installation I just want to be taken seriously as an artist, Hatt takes a somewhat cynical reflection on the art world. Clowns emerge ominously out of a black background to tell clichéd jokes about artists, art connoisseurs, collectors and dealers.
Nova Scotia born artist Shari Hatt specializes in portraiture. In these two bodies of work she focuses on the image of the clown and the sacred realm of the art world. Hatt has studied at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Concordia University, Montreal and The Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta. She has exhibited her work in North America and internationally since 1993.
Artist and author Douglas Coupland gave this review of her work: "(Hatt's photographs) are brilliant and they really challenge notions of personality, identity, gender, sexuality, capitalism and you-name-it. You can't imagine the lightning storms in my brain when I entered the gallery!"
This exhibition runs until May 25, 2008.
Photo by Shari Hatt.
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Media contact: Dan Wall, publicist, Confederation Centre of the Arts, phone (902) 628-6135
Email: confederationcentre.com, web www.confederationcentre.com