Orlando Campbell
dal 30/5/2012 al 11/6/2012
Segnalato da
30/5/2012
Orlando Campbell
New artists, London
The space between. Exploring themes of isolation, nostalgia and decay, Campbell's new body of work provides an abstracted, and sometimes surreal, view inspired by his research of nineteenth and early twentieth century medical manuals.
The Space Between is an exhibition of new paintings and sculpture by British artist Orlando
Campbell (b. 1985). Presented by New Artists at the Chelsea studio once used by James McNeill
Whistler and John Singer Sargent, who lived and worked there for nearly 30 years. Exploring themes
of isolation, nostalgia and decay, Campbell’s new body of work provides an abstracted, and sometimes
surreal, view inspired by his research of nineteenth and early twentieth century medical manuals.
After studying painting at Central St Martins, Campbell moved to Helsinki, Finland, where his work
was influenced by the barren landscapes and remoteness of Finnish life. On his return to London
he spent three years studying historic carving and restoration, with significant impact on his painting
practice.
A Degenerate is one of a series of eight large oak panels treated with gesso and variously gilded
and painted in bole to render an abstracted elliptical detail of cells, diseases and tumours, the
remaining seven will reference cross sections of teeth and gums. The processes and materials used
in each panel reference those employed by Renaissance artists and icon makers, adding the language
of reverence to these abstract landscapes.
Campbell’s interpretation of anonymous medical subjects’ profiles is to be found in a group of
miniature bronze heads. Including Deficient Growth of Mandible, these bronzes retain
a sense of sadness and grace, but again leave the viewer to imagine their subject’s story in a medium
most often reserved for those of standing and wealth.
Five smaller paintings take the typology of dentistry in the form of whole teeth and roots, set
against worked back gilding and varnish, the teeth are rearranged in configurations to encourage
an anthropomorphic reading. These smaller works all reveal a profile of bare wood, a number
stand alone as sculptural objects, with two painted surfaces visible to the viewer. Offering a further
reinterpretation of iconic language, The Difficulties of Extraction is presented in the form
of the familiar doored triptych.
Layers of paint and varnish are built up to create surfaces with cracks and openings, images painted
and then all but completely subtracted. Campbell’s juxtaposition of subject, process and medium come
together to create a sense of otherworldliness, playful but also uneasy in its delicate elegance.
New Artists is a roaming gallery that specialises in presenting the work of independent emerging
artists in interesting and unusual spaces across London. The inaugural New Artists exhibition of
work by Richie Culver and Shorvon & Hunter took place in 2011 at Maggs Bros. Ltd, an antiquarian
booksellers located at 50 Berkley Square. Also known as the ‘most haunted house in London’.
Image: The difficulties of extraction. Oil, varnish on gesso panel. 31.7cmx47cm
New Artists at the Chelsea studio
33 Tite Street, London SW3 4JD
Open: Monday — Sunday 10am — 8pm
Admission: FREE