Current

Rolling logs, twisters, teeter boards, moving floors, whistle traps, cage maze, shuffleboard, crash bumper, lily pads. It’s the early 20th century, and you’ve just walked into America’s playground; the Funhouse. Spawning from the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, the American Carnival would soon explode into a kaleidoscope of wonder and oddity, bringing a yearly spectacle to small towns and cities alike. Before evolving into today’s neon-lit fever dream, the funhouse, a component of the traveling carnival, was a hands-on labyrinth of illusions–a hall of mirrors, uneven floors, dark corridors, sound effects; a humble wooden structure where inside, nothing was as it seemed.

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As the carnival was popularized, it began to nurture a home for those marginalized by American society. Carnival worker crews welcomed international and seasonal workers, and ‘freak shows’ took shape, forming experimental communities. Coney Island’s The Dreamland Circus Side Show offered stability to former circus acts, and legendary parks like Steeplechase, Luna, and Dreamland became a fun and affordable escape for people from all different walks of life.​

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Fun House, presented by Van Der Plas Gallery, brings together two artists, Alejandro Caiazza and Doug Groupp, who explore the carnival’s paradox—both its whimsy and its madness. This exhibition captures the untamed spirit of American culture: the thrill of spectacle, the search for belonging, the beauty of the absurd. It celebrates the dreamlike allure of the funhouse while offering a space for nostalgia, raw emotion, and the echoes of a more hopeful time.

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Alejandro Caiazza (b. 1972) was born in Santa Fe, Argentina, and raised in Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela. He earned a BFA in Architecture and Fine Arts from Jose Maria Vargas University in Caracas. After relocating to Paris in 2000, he studied at L’Ecole Superieure des Beaux-Arts under mentor Ouanes Amor. Today, Caiazza is living and working in New York City.

His mixed-media collages and paintings blend neo-expressionism and art brut, evolving as he learned to adapt through intercontinental travel and relocation. His work often plays into his environment, incorporating real objects, and explores themes around animals, fun, politics, everyday characters, and emotions such as love, madness and death. With humor and bold colors, his pieces are both playful and emotionally intense.

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Doug Groupp, better known as Clown Soldier (b. 1970), is an artist born in Queens, NY. Groupp grew up in Rockland County and graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA, and has worked in many mediums throughout his career, including Oil, Acrylic, Gouache, Watercolor Painting, Frottage, Collage, Screen Printing, Sculpture, and Street Art in the forms of wheat paste, murals and Ad Takeovers.

Groupp’s work is rooted in a whimsical interpretation of his own sense of humor, often unfolding in unexpected ways. Deeply inspired by the history and eccentric energy of Coney Island, he has developed a distinct artistic language over decades. His earlier work drew from satirical narratives, while his more recent pieces lean into abstraction, using hieroglyphic-like shapes and forms. Working in an autonomous and intuitive way, Groupp creates art that feels spontaneous, never overly contrived. His use of humor and playfulness remains a constant, revealing layers of meaning that emerge over time.

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Like a fun house, the work of Alejandro Caiazza and Doug Groupp offers a new experience with every encounter. Their art invites viewers into a world where humor and nostalgia intertwine with the strange and surreal. Through bold compositions and playful juxtapositions, this exhibition revives the spirit of the carnival as a haven for the eccentric, the outcast, and the wandering. Just as the funhouses of the past provided a distorted yet honest reflection of American life, this exhibition rejects the manufactured horrors of today’s political circus, reminding us that in distortion, we often find the clearest reflection of ourselves.