Wondering when and where the staging of circuses began? It was during the 18^th century, when an early form of the now easily identified production was available to viewers in fixed structures (as opposed to movable tents), many of them in London.

Whether clowns fascinate, unsettle or terrify you, they remain a popular motif for artists. Until Dec. 3 the Kunstmuseum Thun in Thun, Switzerland, presents Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys. The Circus Motif in Contemporary Art. The exhibition explores the circus theme through images by international artists including Kathryn Andrews, Miriam Bäckström, Dieter Meier and Ugo Rondinone.

Among the works on display are Norbert Tadeusz’s Das grosse Ei (Casino II), an oil depicting a dreamlike (or nightmarish, depending upon your perspective) circus scene; Istvan Balogh’s print Monkey with Lemon; and Bäckström’s tapestry The Opposite of Me Is I, created from silk, wool, cotton, acrylic and Lurex on Trevira CS warp. Other prominent pieces are Boris Rebetez’s mixed-media surreal stadium Regarde et je regarde aussi and Ring of Fire, a video installation with a wall drawing by Zilla Leutenegger.

Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys. The Circus Motif in Contemporary Art can be viewed Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., and Wednesdays, 10 a.m.–7 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays. A companion publication published by HIRMER Verlag, Munich accompanies the exhibition.

Thun is a 30-minute drive from Bern and a two-hour drive from Zürich.