Gallery 175 Features Inventive Paintings by Peter Campbell - Inside Art with Michael Rose

Gallery 175 Features Inventive Paintings by Peter Campbell - Inside Art with Michael Rose

 

Rhode Island artist Peter Campbell makes paintings that are defined by outward qualities of inventiveness and even whimsical, but which often explore serious subjects. For Campbell, images of children’s books or toys double as history studies. Paintings that share a format with a comic book probe issues like climate change. A solo exhibition of Campbell’s work on view through June 24 at Gallery 175 in Pawtucket offers viewers a chance to explore his distinctive style across multiple bodies of work.

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Campbell trained at the former Vesper George School of Art in Boston and enjoyed a career as an associate creative director and senior graphic designer for a number of local corporations. In 1989 he was selected for NASA’s Space Art Program, an opportunity that provided him with unique access. During the program, Campbell saw the launch of the shuttle Atlantis and created the painting Voyage to Venus, which is now held in NASA’s permanent collection. He has also created three children’s books on the topics of space exploration and baseball. His skills as a documenter and illustrator come through in his recent works on view in Pawtucket.

 

 

One series in Campbell’s show places Playmobil figures at the heart of historical events or transformed works from art history. In a copy of Caravaggio’s famed “Conversion of Saint Paul,” the apostle is shown in toy form, having fallen from his horse illuminated by divine inspiration. In addition to his contribution of the staged toy figurines, the artist also replaces Caravaggio’s Baroque darkness with a bright landscape backdrop. Next to Campbell’s Caravaggio, two toy figures intrude on Rembrandt’s “Night Watch”, becoming the central characters in the well-known artwork. Campbell’s sense of humor shines in pieces like these, as does his ability to help viewers reconsider familiar stories.

 

Campbell’s interest in history comes through more forcefully in other works that interrogate the treatment of Indigenous people of the American West or explore the myth of the Lost Cause in the American Civil War. In one painting, Campbell recreates the cover of a children’s edition of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe in an oversized format. At the top corner of the two-dimensional image, Campbell has affixed a three-dimensional toy Confederate being ejected from his steed. The piece is titled “Ivanhoe and the Death of the Lost Cause”, and references critics like Mark Twain, who attributed elements of antebellum culture to the Scottish author.

 

 

Other works in the show explore themes of pollution and climate change. One mixed media work, titled “From Sea to Shining Sea”, shows the Statue of Liberty submerged in a rising and polluted ocean. Campbell has affixed various pieces of detritus to the surface of the work, embellishing it with trash. Plastic debris and a McDonald’s coffee cup contrast with the Statue’s pointed headpiece just above the waves.

In another recent series, Campbell brings attention to the destruction of natural habitats and the animals that call them home. One painting from this collection is on view in the show, and depicts a jaguar set against a burning jungle. The feline is shown at ease in a comfortable setting on one canvas, which is floated on a background that shows its habitat being destroyed. The result is equal parts inventive and provocative, calling viewers to action through its stark and heart-breaking contrast.

 

 

While some of the most impressive pieces on view are those filled with complex compositions or ones that tackle tough subjects, Campbell’s skill is evident in smaller works too. One modestly scaled painting of an American flag dangling over a foreboding black backdrop is especially potent and can stop an onlooker in their tracks.

A generous space, Gallery 175  provides an ideal spot for a prolific maker like Campbell to exhibit. Centrally located at 175 Main Street in Pawtucket, the gallery occupies a lobby leading into the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center. The space is operated by the non-profit XOS Plus and is dedicated to featuring local artists. After Campbell’s show ends on June 24, Gallery 175 will feature the duo of Allie Sabalis and Cathy Chin from June 26 to August 26, 2022.

 

In the collection of works on view in Peter Campbell’s current solo show, visitors will find an artist with technical skills matched to a pool of varied interests. From topics of history and the climate to considerations about the American experience more broadly, Campbell’s production is that of a curious and hardworking creator.

Peter Campbell’s solo exhibition will be on view at Gallery 175 through June 24. The gallery is located in the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center at 175 Main Street in Pawtucket. It is open daily from 10 am - 4 pm.

 

To learn more about Peter Campbell, visit www.petercampbellfineart.com.

To learn more about Gallery 175, visit www.gallery175.com.