“The Magnificent Midway” by Beth Guipe Hall is much more than a stop along the way to the main event. The exhibit feels like the first step under the big top tent, as the spotlights swirl around you and you make your way to the seats. Nostalgia and excitement bubble up as the pieces make you reminisce about the circus or the fair, with the down to earth magic of a spectacle.

Wonderfully Amazing. Encaustic collage, 24 x 48

The larger, hanging pieces included in the show are encaustic collages. The process involves thin layers of wax, pigment, and materials, giving the collages an appearance of multidimensional haze. Vintage circus imagery and vibrant colors create an enticing atmosphere where enthusiasm builds. Typography featured in the collages proclaim fantastical descriptors, telling you to enjoy the show from the walls.

Lining the path through the Midway are tables that hold anthropomorphized treats, including cotton candy and ballpark dogs. Because of their charming, cartoon faces, you almost expect them to perform a coordinated musical number as you walk through. This artistic concession stand turns the exhibit into a multisensory memory, evoking the tastes and smells, in addition to the sights, of a day at the circus.

“The Magnificent Midway” by Beth Guipe Hall will be on display in the Harrison Center’s Speck Gallery for the month of July. The exhibit can be viewed at our in-person by appointment, and in our online gallery, where all pieces are available for purchase.