Opening Friday, Sept. 15 and running through Saturday, Oct. 21 is Frank Campion – Dichotomies. When gallery director Samantha Spalti saw Frank Campion’s work for the first time, her reaction was nothing less than visceral. “It was that powerful,” she says. “In front of me was this stunning abstract painting that had so much movement, such emotion that it took my breath away.”

The show includes works on both canvas and paper.  About this show, the artist says, “The dictionary defines “dichotomy” as “a division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups – a dichotomy between thought and action.” It occurs to me that we tend to be naturally judgmental, making the world a binary proposition: good/bad, yes/no, on/off, right/wrong, hot/cold, rough/smooth, etc. So this new work is about dichotomies. One dichotomy involves the collision between the rational and the random. The rational is the simple geometric, intentional composition. The random is the occurrence of accidental painterly incidents. The other dichotomy has to do with the meeting of dominant colors that exist independently, but live adjacent to each other. This creates an emotional atmosphere or mood. as the work progresses.

Campion, who works out of his studio near Winston-Salem, was featured in Liza Roberts’ 2022 book The Art of the State, celebrating artists who are contributing to the North Carolina’s growing reputation in visual arts. He says, “As abstract as it may initially appear, my work is essentially derived from the tradition of landscape painting. the issues of space and atmosphere seem always to be with me as are the more formal issues about what constitutes an authentic painting – proportion, form, color, composition, and surface.”

The opening reception is set for Friday, Sept. 15 from 5 – 7 p.m. This is an ideal opportunity for artists, students and collectors to meet and speak with a leading voice in North Carolina arts.