THE TRUTH: An exhibition of paintings by Remo Campopiano at the California Building
WHEN: Friday, May 18th, 5 - 10pm; Saturday, noon - 8pm; Sunday, noon - 5pm.
WHERE: First floor of the California Building, 2205 California St. NE, Studio 99, across from Mojo Coffee
Minneapolis, MN—Remo Campopiano, MFA, will be exhibiting a series of experimental paintings dealing with beauty, truth and lies. In these paintings he explores how great minds in history understand the difference between what is real and what is fake.
Campopiano’s background as a sculptor and experimentalist is evident in his unconventional approach to painting. He begins by allowing acrylic colors to interact over large wooden disks. This process allows color to blend naturally, much like nature forms marble.
The next layer of paint is applied to 3D printed animal imagery, based on the ancient Chinese and Inuit art of paper cutting. Once the imagery is matched with the appropriate painted disk, another layer of 3D printed text is painted and applied.
This melding of layers creates an iconic foreground over an ephemeral background, all tied together with a lacing of majestic words. The quotes from luminaries like, Epictetus, Lao Tzu, Churchill, Picasso, and Buddha, bring clarity to our times in the face of conflicting perceptions of what is true and what is fake.
“I used to start from the idea and work towards art. In this series I’m starting with paint, watching the ideas emerge into art.”
Whether you see his art as relief sculptures or thick paintings, the results are undeniable; Campopiano’s new work is both beautiful and thought provoking.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Remo Campopiano is a Cranbrook-trained artist and a community organizer.
In the 80s and 90s Campopiano created museum installations incorporating live animals (usually ants, fish and mice); for which he won every fellowship Minnesota had to offer, plus a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Also in the 80s, Campopiano co-founded ARTPAPER, and his efforts had a lot to do with the Arts Renaissance of the period.
In the 90's he lead the digital-arts movement called ARTNETWEB from a little storefront on Broome Street in Soho, NYC. It culminated in the historic exhibition called PORT at the List Center at MIT. PORT was a ground-breaking, 3 months of performance art over the Internet from artists worldwide.
Returning to the Twin Cities in 2012, Campopiano founded the XYZ club, where artists explore new digital technologies and apply them to art making. In 2016 the club won a grant from Springboard for the Arts to create and perform ArtBots: 5, 5’ tall, 2-wheel, self-balancing robots that kids operate from smartphones. The robots will be running periodically during this exhibition.
Contact Information:
Remo Campopiano
614-353-8290
