Freaks Show

Step out of the bright lights of the midway and into the shadow of the darkened side-show tent, where the wild things are. Strange beasts, stranger people and otherworldly relics await you inside. That’s the world explored in Claudia Roulier’s Peculiarities: from fish to freaks, opening tonight and running through October 17 at Pirate: Contemporary Art. You’ll see that theme elucidated in surreal assemblages fashioned from estate-sale finds, bones and other esoteric ephemera, and expressed in paintings depicting animals in party hats. Whimsical, absurd and intriguing, Roulier’s work borders on the provocative without ever slipping into the realm of the grotesque.

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More About

• Louis Recchia

“Most of my shows are centered around the intriguing oddities and weirdities you see on the midway, from the two-headed cow to the tattooed lady,” explains Roulier. “I just want to go right up to the edge, like The Twilight Zone used to do. The rest is you — what you were imagining is going on.” >Peculiarities: From Fish to Freaks

The show opens with a free reception and complimentary desserts from 6 to 10 p.m. tonight at Pirate, 3655 Navajo Street; works by Louis Recchia will be in the main gallery. For more information, visit www.pirateartonline.org or call 303-458-6058.
Oct. 1-17, 2010