Sing Ding A Ling. Studio on location, paintings, drawings, photos, sculptures and video
Sing Ding A Ling. Studio on location, paintings, drawings, photos, sculptures and video
With Sing Ding A Ling, Museum Het Domein is proud to present the first Dutch solo
exhibition of Californian artist Thomas Campbell. He has temporarily transplanted
his Santa Cruz studio to the museum and has been working here a month developing an
exhibition that will cover every aspect of his work. The exhibition is accompanied
by a catalogue / artist’s book. Campbell has also been invited to serve as guest
curator for the project space, where he will present the work of four young American
artists: Evan Hecox, Alex Kopps, Geoff McFetridge and Simone Shubuck.
Growing up on the west coast of the United States Campbell’s artistic movement was
spawned from his involvement with the creative movement of the skateboarding culture
of the 80’s - 90’s up until today. Campbell infuses his distinctly unique style into
the paintings, drawings and sculptures that comprise his fantastical world. His work
is expressed thru a wide range of mediums - paintings, detailed drawings, abstract
photography and motion pictures, of which he is most known for his surf films Sprout
and The Seedling. Visual elements like the semi-human figure, text and ornamentation
repeatedly appear on houses on stilts, works on sewing paper and bronze and wood
sculptures. Typical of these pieces are the undulating line and curves that reappear
unceasingly. Just as every wave presents the surfer with a fresh invitation,
challenging his arsenal of skills, Campbell employs a diversity of techniques in his
art work, coupling a conceptual approach with well-crafted execution.
Thomas Campbell’s work was recently shown at Roberts & Tilton Gallery, LA, and
is currently featured in the touring Beautiful Losers exhibition. Campbell has
mounted solo exhibitions at galleries in New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, and
Morocco. Last year, in the exhibition On Love, Het Domein screened his film Sprout .
Campbell is mainly known for his artistic work but has also worked as editor of
Skateboarder magazine and also runs his own record label, Galaxia, which has
released records by contemporary artists Tommy Guerrero and Peggy Honeywell.
“If Thomas Campbell’s paintings, drawings, collages and sculptures were not works of
art, they’d be weeds - hard-to-kill organisms that pop up just about anywhere and
thrive on whatever sustenance is available. (…) The show includes a seemingly
endless supply of his signature figures — charming cartoon survivalists who bumble
about in cumbersome parkas that resemble one-man tepees. Think low-tech, solo mobile
home or ersatz turtle shell, with a single porthole for the figure's face."
Museum Het Domein
Kapittelstraat 6 - Sittard
Tuesday - Sunday 11.00am - 5.00pm