OCTOBER 22, 2011 - JANUARY 16, 2012
On view on the Museum's third floor.
A ceramist, sculptor, and self-proclaimed "mad scientist," Bailey aims to surprise and delight with his art. This exhibition presents the full range of his inspired eccentricity in clay and metal, including his early ceramic critters, signature "exploding pots," life-sized robot sculptures, and ray guns fashioned from discarded aluminum. Also included are Bailey's pseudo-scientific discoveries, including proof of "Big Foot" and ceramic fossils from the "Bone Age," made under the name of his scientific alter-ego, Dr. George Gladstone. Visitors to the exhibition will also experience the artist's fully realized environments, including his backyard "Kaolithic" discoveries and mockumentary "Museum of Wonders" from his home in the Bay Area. In all, 180 works and complementary ephemera span 50 years of Bailey's prodigious production of genuine marvels.
Image credit: Clayton Bailey, Buns Robot, 2003. Aluminum and chrome with electric illumination, 46 × 26 × 26 inches. Crocker Art Museum, gift of Mrs. Robin Liebes and Bailey and Sydney Liebes, 2009.100.
Visit Dr. Gladstone's Wonderlab
Dr. Gladstone's Wonderlab is an all-ages, interactive creativity lab named for Clayton Bailey's scientific alter-ego, Dr. George Gladstone. Through four interactive stations—Match-ology, You Name It, Build a Bot, and Creation Station—you can channel your inner mad scientist, inventor, or tinkerer. The Wonderlab will be open during the run of the exhibition Clayton Bailey's World of Wonders.
Dr. Gladstone's Wonderlab is located on the third floor in the Weborg Gallery, just across the hall from the main exhibit gallery.
More Exhibition Images
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Clayton Bailey, Burping Bust with Jumping Hair, 1968. Ceramic, low-fire, with water and sound, 30 × 18 × 18 in., Courtesy of the Artist. -
Clayton Bailey, Clinker Explosive Bottle, 2007. Expanding clay and porcelain with glaze and screen printing, 12 × 8 × 8 in., Courtesy of the Artist. -
Clayton Bailey, Giant Cyclops Skull, Cyclops "Homer Was Right!" Sign, and Cyclops "The Kaolithic Giant of the Precredulous Era.—Port Costa, CA," Sign, 1976 and 1980. Thermally metamorphosed mud, 20 x 13 x 24 in., 10 x 6 x 1/2 in., and 3 x 7 x 3 in. Courtesy of the Artist. -
Clayton Bailey, Dangerous Brain Bowl, 1974. Ceramic with luster and china paint with electric illumination, two elements: 19 3/4 x 12 1/2 x 10 and 10 x 17 x 17 in. Crocker Art Museum, gift of Paula and Ross Turk. -
Clayton Bailey, Face Jugs, 1991. Stoneware with luster glaze and china paint, Approx. 9 × 6 × 8 in. each, Courtesy of the Artist. -
Clayton Bailey, Firebreathing Demon, 2001. Stoneware with glass eyes and electric illumination, 18 ×14 × 12 in., Courtesy of the Artist. -
Clayton Bailey, Fresnel Robot, 2005. Aluminum and chrome with electric illumination, 60 × 24 × 18 in., Courtesy of the Artist.
