Tomo Campbell

Drawing inspiration from Neoclassical, Rococo, and Flemish art, Tomo Campbell expressively reinterprets classical subject matters through his rhythmic movements, romantic imagination, and a subtle surrealistic charm.

Campbell’s abstracted depictions of ‘traditional’ subjects such as hunting, parades and explorers are fluid and suggestive, blending in with layers of textured brushstrokes to form images that oscillate between figuration and abstraction. The artist delights in juxtaposing opposite painting processes — fast versus slow, translucent versus opaque — to heighten the spatial ambiguity and dreamlike atmosphere of his scenes. Traversing realms of history and myth, his paintings offer multiple focal points that keep the eye wandering and draw the beholder closer in searching for hidden shapes and characters. “I try to paint in a way that makes the paint vibrate,” says Campbell, “to make it look light and delicate and on the cusp of shifting.” Balancing activity and stasis, confidence and doubt, his works occupy a fertile space somewhere between the known and the undiscovered.

Tomo Campbell (b. 1988, Britain) lives and works in London, UK. After graduating from Central Saint Martins with a BA degree in 2010, Campbell was awarded the first artist residency at the English National Ballet which he participated in between 2012-2013. He has previously exhibited at Cob Gallery, London, UK; County Gallery, Florida, USA; Timothy Taylor, London, UK; Asia Art Centre, Taipei, Taiwan; Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh, UK; among others. His works can be found in numerous private collections in Europe and Asia, including the Simon Nixon Collection, London, UK; and DLA Piper Art Collection, London, UK.