Clowned by Capitalism
The face the system paints on you
The joke everyone is in on and nobody escapes.
Clowned by Capitalism is about what a system can put on your face while you are still trying to remain yourself underneath it. The clowning is not playful. It is the part where survival starts to look like performance.
Companion work: The Masquerade and Clowned by Capitalism both deal with the face we present when the world demands a performance. One is about the mask we choose. The other is about the performance a system can force onto us.
This one-of-one work by Harlem artist Corey Wesley is part of Unapologetic Faces: The Cost of Being Seen. It is signed and documented with a certificate of authenticity.
36x24 wall art. Archival museum-quality aluminum on an MDF back. Scratch and fade resistant, with nothing over the surface. No glass, no acrylic. Ready to hang, French cleat included, floats half an inch off the wall and hangs vertical or horizontal. Signed on the front by Corey Wesley. Signed certificate of authenticity included.
Contact Carol Ward About This Piece
Corey Wesley
Harlem shaped his practice: the faces on the subway, in recovery rooms, and in the space between performance and collapse. He creates what remains when the face stops performing.
His proprietary mixed-media process combines writing, Photoshop, Illustrator, and modern technology, including AI-assisted tools. Over days or months, he refines symbolism, color, composition, facial structure, and emotional tone until each work carries his recognizable visual language.
The faces in these works are archetypes. They belong to everyone. And no one.
More Available Works
Each one of one. Once acquired, it does not return.
