The Circo Pazzo series are done in acrylic paint on 100% cotton canvas with folded and stitched edges and distressed brass grommets. The series was inspired by the traveling circuses that are still a major form of entertainment for families here in Italy. They are often promoted by modern and slightly absurd posters hung around town to announce the arrival of the circus.
My versions were a reflection of how the posters might have looked in the past with an added touch of psychedelic and the influence of art nouveau works such as that of Alphonse Mucha.
This is also a sentimental series because my aunt worked in the 1950s for “The Greatest Show on Earth,” the Barnum & Bailey Circus. I remember that she arranged for the famous clown Emmett Kelly greeting us in the audience with a cabbage.
The US Postal Service acquired the image of one of the paintings, the Wizard of Oz, to create a postage stamp.