Barry Camps
LandE scape
CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
And in particular , how does your cultural substratum inform the way you relate yourself to art making and to the aesthetic problem in general ?
During my education I was able to experiment with materials and ideas . Having contact with both people who already had a lot of experience and people , like me , which were very much searching and in a starting phase was very energetic and stimulating . My world evolved around art and I still very much remember the night long discussions I had and the deep commitment to the arts . During my time at the AKI 2 ( now The Dutch Art Institute ) I came in contact with a more diverse but very small group of international artists . It was a very intense period in my life and I felt very fortunate that I was able to study for 2 more years in such a select and talented group . Teachers were able to give you a lot of individual attention and I made sure that I made use of that . I worked day and night . My works and especially my technique got much better , but also the subject matter was getting more important . I learned that a technique should be in service of what you like to express . After my time at the AKI 2 I moved to Antwerp Belgium and there I came in contact with a lot of new artists , but maybe even more important a different attitude . The surreal culture of
Belgium combined with the more abstract one of the Netherlands made the artist who i am today . It ’ s a combination of the heart and mind . The more intellectual approach which I got from my Dutch roots and education and the “ don ’ t overthink everything ” and play mentality and letting your emotion into the works which I got and still get from my Belgium experience .
Your approach is very personal and your technique condenses a variety of viewpoints , that you combine together into a coherent balance . We would suggest to our readers to visit http :// www . barrycamps . nl in order to get a synoptic view of your work : in the meanwhile , would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up ? In particular , are your works produced gesturally , instinctively ? Or do you methodically transpose geometric schemes ?
I guess it ’ s a combination of both . Most of the time I start with a geometric scheme or a color gradient . Not a lot of people know that but I almost always start with very bright colors which I tone down layer by layer . I like the fact that my paintings get their light from underneath . I think it get ’ s them more depth and gives me the opportunity to work in layers without losing my light . After the set up it becomes very instinctively . Action-
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