Karon Davis Explores Performance and Power in Seattle Art Museum's Not My Circus

The Seattle Art Museum is set to open Karon Davis: Not My Circus on November 5, 2026, running through July 4, 2027, at its Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Gallery. The solo exhibition will feature a new body of work by Karon Davis, comprising both sculptures and paintings.

Davis explores themes of performance, power, and societal dynamics through the metaphor of the circus. Her new works draw on her family's background in entertainment, informing her exploration of the duality of pleasure and pain inherent in such public spectacles.

Carrie Dedon, SAM’s Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, commented on Davis's approach, stating, "Karon has an extraordinary ability to draw us in with figures that feel familiar and theatrical, then reveal something much more complicated beneath the surface."