About

My vision as an artist is influenced deeply by my surroundings and contributes to states of awareness. Observations of everyday life and personal interaction become catalyst for the depiction of the stories told in these new works.

As an artist, one of my inherent faculties is observation. I observe detail in ordinary substance and behavior of light and color others may unknowingly pass by. I mentally store the images seen during my day and unpack them on the canvas. The collage of imagery captures the energy, secrets, happiness, frustration, excitement, wonder, and mystery that guide my vision. In the studio I quickly record these bits of information and time in a capsulated form through macro and micro compositions that speak to a very precise moment in time. Particles swirl, dart in and out and finally connect forming larger shapes of microscopic matter that is a burst of life. I am aware of and embrace the fact that the influences of my surroundings and personal situations find their way into my art in one form or another.

A circumstantial basis has an effect on the manner in which these pieces are conceived and implemented. I work in diminutive, emotionally intense periods of time which, consequently results in the energetic use of color and brush strokes and the layering of ideas, interpretation, and snippets of time that coerce the final painting.

These works are soothing and chaotic, calming and energized, colorful and subtle, outward and inward, each having a life of its own. As I evolve as a person, husband, father, teacher and artist, my art and approach reflects the evolution.

biography

Todd Camp was born in rural Ashland, Ohio in 1966 where his interest in nature and art was apparent and nurtured at an early age. His formal studies at the Columbus College of Art & Design began in 1985 where he earned a B.F.A. with Honors.

After graduation, Todd began an extraordinary teaching career that has lasted over 20 years. His innovative style for pushing students beyond their limits contributed to the enhancement of thousands of students lives over the course of his tenure. Camp says “My students inspire me and my work with their ideas” Todd’s award winning paintings, drawings, and clay, adorn numerous regional, national and international corporate & private collections while his limited edition prints are distributed worldwide. His unique wax paintings and illuminated sculpture were featured on HGTV’s “That’s Clever”. “My current work is driven by observations of the everyday. Small , interesting, and seemingly insignificant objects capture my attention and become subject for paintings & drawings”. During this time he also accumulated numerous awards, national exhibitions, International corporate & private patronage of his innovative art.

In 2004 Todd decided to leave teaching and pursue his art on a full time basis. The result was the beginning of a new series of work that continues to grow and develop today. “I always look deep into the obvious for something unseen, another way of looking at an idea”. The ability to work in a variety of media including clay, painting, & sculpture, propels Camp’s abstract, contemporary expressions beyond the ordinary. Some of his influences include travel, water, air qualities and observations of the mundane, all of which contribute to a culmination of his unique vision. Viewers of Todd’s work might identify with a particular shape, color, or reflection that then leads them on a personal journey of remembrance.

“I layer my art with multiple recollections of one observation. Some layers remain dominant in the final piece while others lie just beneath the surface of a more prominent thought. The circle is always present in my work representing the journey or travel. Beginning in one moment of time and the continuum of the circle brings us back to where we began the journey, hopefully, a more informed person”.

Todd Camp’s work is represented in Columbus, Ohio by Hayley Gallery. Gierek Fine Art, Tulsa, OK, and Editions Limited in California. Todd was selected by the Greater Columbus Arts Council to join the Artist in Schools program where he conducted workshops and residencies for schools in the Central Ohio area for 5 years. Currently, Mr. Camp is the Education Director at the King Arts Complex in Columbus, Ohio where he is responsible for conducting winter, spring and summer camps and launching The Afterschool Arts Institute in January 2011.

Selected Exhibitions

1988 “Best of Show, Lens and Light, 150th Exhibition, Ohio State University
1991 “Award of Excellence” Fine Arts Video Competition, University of Missouri
1992 “Honorable Mention”, 1992 Fine Arts Competition, University of Missouri
1993 Columbus Art League Invitational, Columbus Museum of Art
1994 “Best of Show”, Mansfield Art Center May Show, Mansfield, OH
“Jury Award”, Mansfield Art Center Fall Members Show, Mansfield, OH
“5+5” Art Instructors of Columbus Recreation and Parks, Columbus, OH
1996 “Landscape, Landscape, Landscape”, Brenda Kroos Gallery, Cleveland, OH
Icarus International Exhibition, Nags Head, NC
“Beyond Landscape”, Solo Exhibition, Bowling Green State University
1997 Annual All-Ohio Juried Art Exhibition, Pearl Conard Art Gallery, Ohio State University
Zanesville Fall Arts Festival, Raku Demonstration, Zanesville, OH
Icarus International Exhibition, Nags Head, NC
1998 Ohio Arts Council Artist in Residence Award, ARC Industries
Ohio Arts Council Residency Exhibit, Urban Gardener, Columbus, OH
Ohio Arts Council Grant, Women’s Health Day, Ohio State Fairgrounds
“People’s Choice Award”, Zanesville Arts Center Outdoor Festival,
“Jury Award”, Mansfield Art Center Fall Members Show, Mansfield, OH
Icarus International Exhibition, Nags Head, NC
“Edward Frey Award-Best of Show”, Mansfield Art Center May Show
1999 “Painting Award”, Zanesville Art Center May Show
Commissioned Outdoor Permanent Installation Garden Arbor, Elizabeth
Blackwell Center Riverside Hospital, Columbus, OH
2000 “Groupings/An Invitational Surprise”, The Ohio State University
“George Biddle Award”, Mansfield Art Center May Show, Mansfield, OH
2002 “Award of Excellence in Painting”, Icarus International, Nags Head, NC
2004 “Group of Three” MG Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
“Bronze Award” Licking Art Association, Ohio State University
“Edward Frey Award Best of Show” Mansfield Art Center
“Rambunctious Clay, Ceramics with Attitude Invitational” Ohio
2005 Award of Distinction, Mansfield Art Center May Show
Remembrance: People I don’t know. Attic Gallery Portland, Oregon
“Reflections & Observations, Solo Show of Paintings, MVNU, Mt. Vernon
2006 Edward Frey Best of Show Award Mansfield Art Center
Lancaster Arts Festival Featured Artist, Lancaster, Ohio
Solo Exhibition at Sherrie Gallerie, Columbus, Ohio
2007 Jury Award Mansfield Art Center
Sculpture & Painting featured on Home & Garden Television’s “That’s Clever”
Group Show “Art doesn’t whisper” Gierek Fine Art Tulsa, OK
2008 Solo Show “Landscape at the farm” Hayley Gallery Columbus, OH
Solo Show “Method & Material: The encaustic paintings of Todd Camp” Ohio Dominican University
2010 Solo show “Observations: Current state” Hayley Gallery, New Albany, OH