This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by the artist confirming the authenticity of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

This artist loves to overturn expectations, even if it means tweaking old fashioned ways of seeing, such as going beyond traditional perspectives. It should be noted that painters from Seurat to Matisse were drawn to the circus — not just for its drama and color, but for the melancholy and alienation it could also represent. In this work the circus performer on a tightrope is strangely isolated in space, staring impassively forward, his costume crisply delineated. Marcel Antonio’s art stands somewhat apart from the more general vogue because of the personal level of meaning he infuses into his character types. Despite Marcel Antonio’s confident handling of the individual circus character, his curiously integrated in a quirky manner with a bird’s eye view of the townscape below, this adds to the charm.