Artist Statement:

Brian Scott Campbell creates works that explore the manipulation of natural environments through man-made devices. This work is employed in several mediums; including painting, drawing, sculpture and animation. Drawing much of his inspiration from Rube Goldberg cartoon illustrations, Campbell presents the viewer with a world that is, at once, organic and industrial, as well as whimsical and fantastical. Entanglements of individually deliberate, yet collectively haphazard lines create complex arterial networks that could be highways, viruses, or both. These systematic patterns occupy an intentionally sparse composition, leaving them isolated; floating in space, connected only to themselves. While these works suggest a kind of pessimism, Campbell’s more sculptural works suggest a silver lining or, perhaps, a punch-line; nearly abstract jumbles of urban and rural landscapes congest wooden panels that are cut into fluid, organic shapes, which seem to envelop their contents like a membrane, suggesting some greater order to the chaos within. All-in-all, no matter what the medium or interpretation, Campbell’s works engage us in a tricky conversation about how and where we live.

"Through the phenomenon of mark making, and erasure, the architectural fantasies of the Renaissance are applied at the corpuscular level. The epic scenes of composed lines reference a Rube Goldberg perspective of our built world, as well as the internal, micro - landscape. The frenzied circuitry of concrete ribbons explores drawing as a prophecy, or blueprint."

"I have always been interested in addressing the notion of drawing as a prophecy, or a projection. Consequently, my work often focuses on the dialogue between the languages and politics of drawing, as well as the dogmatic history of painting.  I have always had a love for animation and started as a printmaker, so the process of drawing, tracing and the serial or sequenced image have been points of entry for my work."

"Currently I am focusing on the unfolding landscape, and the alteration of living spaces. Imagined maps of continents or islands converge with vistas of highway entanglements.  Glaciers melt, and drip, towers, highways and fences are built, and painted brush strokes are outlined in graphite.  The work conflates, superimposes, and culls source material from the contemporary landscape to inform a great labyrinthine of information. The work often references vulnerable and diaphanous structures during a state of collapse. My range of inspiration is derived of everything from DaVinci’s sketchbooks and Piranesi, to Viking maps and Heavy Metal music.  Additionally, the politics of a disabled environment, the conquering of new land, war, displacement camps, home makeover television shows and suburban sprawl are influences on the subject matter of my work.  The future of my work is reliant upon expanding and testing the boundaries of drawing through paint, sculpture, sound, video, performance and architecture."
 

Born

1983, Columbus, OH

Education

BFA, Drawing and Painting, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH

Solo Exhibitions

1,400 Feet Above SeaLevel- Sean Christopher Gallery, Columbus, OH

BFA Thesis - Canzani Center Gallery

Selected Group Exhibitions

2005 Neo V Gallery, Columbus, OH

Roy G. Biv

2004 Mahan Gallery

Roy G. Biv

2003 Acme Art Co.

The Mockbee, Cincinnati, OH

Juried Exhibitions

2005 American Drawing Biennial 8- Muscarelle Museum of Art, Williamsburgh, VA

OhioState Fair Fine Art Exhibition, Columbus, OH

Ohio Art League- Columbus Cultural Arts Center

Best of BFA Thesis- Canzani Center Gallery

2005-’02  CCAD Student Exhibition

1999 Congressional Art Exhibition- Capital Building, Washington D.C.

Awards

2006 New American Paintings No. 65

2005 Most Outstanding Senior in Fine Art - CCAD

Publications

The Other Paper (OH)- 11/17/05
The Columbus Dispatch- 8/7/05
Daily Press (VA)- 6/19/05
Columbus Alive- 5/18/05