Pennywise the Clown

Artist: Brent Doty
Series: Literary Serialist Series
Title: Pennywise the Clown
Size: 25" x 25"
Year: 2025 Medium: Literary Serialist Mixed Media Painting
 
  Pennywise marks a new literary direction in Brent Doty’s Serialist practice, using hand-cut and painted book pages to construct a haunting portrait drawn from Stephen King’s iconic universe. Built entirely from layered text and visual fragments, the work transforms literature itself into material, allowing the written word to physically shape the image of one of modern horror’s most enduring characters.
 
  The serialist approach amplifies the psychological tension embedded in King’s storytelling. Repetition, fragmentation, and accumulation mirror the cyclical nature of fear, memory, and childhood trauma that define IT. The visible typography, altered pages, and painted surfaces invite close inspection, revealing narrative depth beneath the surface image while blurring the boundary between reading and viewing.
 
  Pennywise the Clown is a one-of-a-kind artwork designed for collectors who value literature, cinema, and contemporary conceptual craft. Ideal for female collectors, corporate environments, interior designers, private libraries, and modern condo spaces, the painting functions as a striking focal point and an investment-grade work—intellectual, unsettling, and culturally resonant.