Grounded

Over the past year, Rebecca Campbell has transformed her studio into a laboratory for material experimentation. For her new series, Campbell has chosen a material with which she was largely unfamiliar – oil bar and pastel – and pushed beyond the skill and muscle memory that she has built through years of working with paint. “I wanted to get lost in the material,” Campbell explains. For the subject matter of her experimentation, Campbell looked to her own garden: a place that provides a refuge for her amidst the tumult of American political instability. Campbell follows in the tradition of countless artists throughout the centuries who have sought inspiration in the subject, a fact that Campbell attests to the blooms’ complexity and emotive quality. To Campbell, flowers are “symbolic of all phases of life.” They are beautiful but also ravishing, tender, sexual, defensive, rebellious. The luminous new body of work captures the flower in bloom, in vibrant color, and lush with life. From the loose and gestural ruffled petals of Dahlia Uprising to the even, refined blossoms of Preppy Poppy, the range of mark-making present throughout the series reflects Campbell’s experimental process as well as the underlying expressive quality of each still life. The effect is enhanced by Campbell’s careful selection of blooms and vases, many of which hold personal significance for the artist. Her final piece – Self Portrait in Green and Red – brings the entire series into focus for Campbell. Wilted from lack of water, the tulips seem to be exhausted, overcome, and yet, they still contain tremendous beauty. “I’ve been calling it my most recent self-portrait,” Campbell says.

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45 N Venice Blvd

La, NY