09/25/2026
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Karon Davis: Not My Circus
Seattle Art Museum
November 5, 2026 - July 4, 2027
Karon Davis’s work strides the line between visual art and performance. In communion with one another, her figurative sculptures form enigmatic tableaux that suggest both personal and collective stories tied to contemporary and ancient themes, historical events, and the artist’s lived experiences. Davis begins each sculpture by making a plaster cast of a real person—often a friend, family member, stranger befriended on the street, or the artist herself. The final work is both rooted in the personal and, as she builds upon and transforms the figures into their roles like actors in a play, reflective of a broader collective experience.
In Not My Circus, Davis invites visitors into the big top of the circus. The duality of pleasure and pain that is inherent in all forms of entertainment—and particularly relevant in the context of the circus—has long been a subject of interest to Davis, who studied dance and film and comes from a family of performers. In Davis’s hands, the insidious underbelly of the circus is brought into the limelight: the deadly power of the lion, subdued and dominated by a yet more powerful force; the tragic clown’s weeping face, provoking taunting laughter from its audience; the knife-thrower’s assistant, a human target risking grave harm if she, or her partner, make one wrong move. Davis draws parallels between the circus tent’s public personas and the private power dynamics of greater society, bringing the personal dramas of our lives front and center.
About the artist
Karon Davis is the 2025 recipient of the Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Prize. The prize was created in honor of Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence, renowned artists and dedicated teachers who lived and worked in Seattle for much of their lives and who recognized the need for Black artists to have support and advocacy. Funding for the prize is provided by the Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Endowment and the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation.
Karon SAM Hyperallergic
