John Campbell
Olympia, WA
A resident of the Pacific Northwest with formal training in Fine Arts and Sciences, John's art explores the tensions and dichotomies of perception and meaning
MessageA longtime resident of the Pacific Northwest, John has formal training in the fine arts as well as the sciences. John primarily paints with acrylics on canvas and paper, and also works in digital art, photography, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, and writing. His art explores the tensions and dichotomies of perception and meaning.
Born to academic parents, his early childhood was in the American Midwest and briefly in London, England. His interest in the sciences led to a career as a research scientist, most recently as the lab manager for a neurophysiology lab studying the retina at the University of Washington. His formal education in fine arts culminated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in painting at Auburn University in Alabama.
John’s paintings and creations have been shown in a x8 (Times 8) artist group exhibition and he was the photographer for their catalog as well as the model coordinator for their figure drawing activities. He created a large painting as part of a cooperative live art performance at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and has been in several Seattle Center for Book Arts' Edible Book Festival art contests. He was selected to exhibit at the "Foundations: Circle Square Triangle" art show at the University House in Seattle, and has presented a solo show of approximately 40 pieces in Crown Hill - Seattle. John founded the Association of Visual Artists (AVA) at Auburn University, has been a member of the Olympia Ceramics Cooperative, and is a member of the Olympia Arts League, as well as an Artist Member of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
John's art is inspired by interesting patterns and visual elements that can be found within larger images that he then extracts and builds on, or inspired by perceiving optical effects in images and his surroundings.
Statement
My need to make art is very personal. I follow an idea where I hope to experience a different sense of mind, and enter a different kind of consciousness. The results can sometimes be profound and moving. When I venture an expression I can only guess where it might take me. The initial structure is a seed that grows into a flower of discovery.
My general artistic theme and interest is to make paintings that vibrate with juxtapositions of perspective. Until a painting gives me a back-and-forth creative tension it is not finished. I begin and finish some of my paintings years apart, sometimes many years.
My art is about the juxtaposition of visual symbolic abstractions that, when most pleasing, are not necessarily intentional stances as much as experiments or thoughts of what might work together. I perceive new revelations in what does and does not work.
I often find artistic success when I let go of needing well-defined and intended outcomes. I believe in encouraging serendipity and happy accidents. It is not just random chance, but about creating fruitful opportunities by being open and aware, and allowing art to happen. Fortuitous "errors" and the serendipity of inspired additions can turn my creations into something truly extraordinary. When my creation is complete I find it fascinating to see the meanings that I perceive immediately, and as time passes. Some of my favorite creations started with an idea that ended up as a small fraction of the finished piece. The unintended is amazing and can be more consequential than my best hopes.
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