Eileen Cooper: Nights at the Circus

Sims Reed Gallery presents Nights at the Circus, an exhibition of new work by the celebrated British artist Eileen Cooper, opening on 4th March 2020.

Comprised of twenty works on paper of unique collages, monoprints and a linocut, plus a new woodcut edition to be launched by the gallery, this is Cooper’s second show with Sims Reed. The presentation takes its title from Angela Carter’s seminal novel, Nights at the Circus, from which Cooper developed the featured works. Published in 1984, the book incorporates multiple categories of fiction, referencing fairy tales and weaving them into magical realism — themes that frequently appear in Cooper’s work.
The opportunity to visit Nights at the Circus arose with The Folio Society commissioning Cooper to create illustrations for a new edition of Carter’s novel. Revisiting the novel elicited deep connections that tied Carter’s characters with imagery in Eileen’s work and subconscious. The result reveals a new body of work on paper that combines motifs inspired by the literary work and ideas drawn from her own imagination. A very personal interpretation of the story is told through Eileen’s eyes.

Access the 3D walkthrough Here