“Ropar’s Circus”

Roll up, roll to the greatest show on earth - “Ropar’s Circus”! In the main arena see the trapeze artists fly, the famous dancing bears on roller-skates and the incredible suspended Chinamen’s tea party. Stroll down sideshow alley to marvel at the rooster rider, bunny girl and the crazy cows. Meet Mr. Cyklops, the strongest man on earth! Buy a ticket to try your luck against the boxing kangaroos.

Pop Artist, Dennis Ropar, presents “Ropar’s Circus”, a nostalgic look at the birth of pop culture. In the 19th and early 20th Century, the ‘Circus’ - as a form of entertainment, was the beginning of popular culture as we know it today. Entertainment for the masses featuring the bold, the courageous and the bizarre. Before television, Hollywood or large theatrical sporting events such as the Super Bowl in the US, the Circus was the precursor to these mass entertainment icons of today. Although what was unique to the Circus of yester year was, that individualism triumphed over the majority. Freaks were super stars and often successful entrepreneurs in their own right. Today human oddities are exploited by the tabloids and have only their 15 minutes of fame. The 19th century ‘carnie folk’ were the first of the modern day free wheelers long before the beatniks of the 1960’s made ‘on the road’ a war cry for a generation.

With his latest show – “Ropar’s Circus”, Dennis Ropar celebrates the true individualism of these circus personalities and the phenomenon of the Circus.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010 Jackman Gallery Melbourne, “Ropar's Circus”
2009 Jackman Gallery Melbourne, "Real Love"
2008 Jackman Gallery Melbourne, “Roparville”
2008 United Gallery, Sydney, “Cowboys, Pin-ups & Bling”
2007 Masterpiece at DXL, Hobart, “Product”
2007 Greenwood Gallery, Melbourne, “Disposable”
2006 Span Galleries, Melbourne, “Behind Closed Doors”
2006 Church Studios, Adelaide, ‘Behind Closed Doors”
2006 Fad Gallery, Melbourne, “Leatherbound Women”
2006 Pop Shop by Ropar, Melbourne, “Leatherbound Women”
2006 Pop Shop by Ropar, Melbourne, “100 Ropars No Reserve”
2006 Fad Gallery, Adelaide, “100 Ropars No Reserve”
2005 Pop Shop by Ropar, Melbourne, “Wonderland”
2005 Span Gallery, Melbourne, “America We Love You”
2005 Pop Shop by Ropar, Melbourne, “America We Love You”
2005 Wall Gallery, Melbourne, “What Is Ropar"
2004 Blackkab Gallery, Brisbane “What Is Ropar”
2004 Fad Gallery, Melbourne, “What Is Ropar”
2004 Telstra Building, Melbourne, “Icons”
2004 Richard Hosking, Adelaide, “Pin Ups”
2004 Affordable Art Fair, Melbourne
2004 Rex Livingstone Fine Arts, Sydney, “god save America 11”
2004 Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne, “-goes dotti”
2004 Dream, Melbourne, “Pink”
2003 Kalli Rolfe Contemporary Art, Melbourne, "god save America 11”
2003 Elliot Salon, Melbourne, “My Funny Valentine”
2002 Rex Livingstone Fine Arts, Sydney, “Cowboys Again”
2002 Jackman Gallery, Melbourne, “Dennis Ropar & Darrell Hall”
2002 Span Galleries, Melbourne, “Product”
2002 Showgirls Bar 20, Melbourne, “Wet Dreams"
2001 Kula Lotrscak, Zagreb, “Melbourne Life”
2001 Mansour & Hill Gallery, Melbourne, “Hommage”
2001 Mansour & Hill Gallery, Melbourne, “Cowboys Do It Better”
2001 QDOS Gallery, Melbourne, “On The Road”
2000 Aardwolf Gallery, Melbourne, “Blimps In Cities”
2000 Aardwolf Gallery, Melbourne, “Paintings On Pailings”
2000 Aardwolf Gallery, Melbourne, “Works On Paper and Sculptures”
1999 Span Galleries, Melbourne, “A Cowboy, His Horse and a Hose”
1998 Span galleries, Melbourne, “Wanna Be A Cowboy”

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2008 Jackman Gallery Melbourne, “Group Sculpture”
2008 United Gallery Sydney, “Hip Pop”