Nuno de Campos new paintings and drawings

images . press . cv
december 5, 2003 – january 3, 2004 -- artist reception on friday , december 5th, 5.30 to 7.30 pm

Click to see earlier work by Nuno de Campos: click here

 

Clifford • Smith Gallery is pleased to announce its December 2003 exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Nuno de Campos. The exhibition is comprised of three small square paintings and 5 drawings – each depicting the midsection of a woman from a low point of view. As a continuation of the series started in the 2001 show "Lap and Beyond", in each of the pieces the dialogue between subject and viewer is mediated by an allusive object. The woman's clothing still figures prominently in the work, however, the icy-cool palette of the earlier paintings is replaced by a hot red T-shirt, or a fuchsia, navy blue and white dress.

Nuno de Campos

Shirt #7

2003

egg tempera on panel

13" x 13"

 
In the Shirt pieces, a Che Guevara image on the T-shirt serves as the object that, combined with the affect of the figure, creates an apparent gulf between subject and viewer. The sitter is depicted in poses that waver between coy/coquettish and brazen/bold, questioning the political significance of the iconic image.

Nuno de Campos

Shirt #8

2003

egg tempera on panel

13" x 13"

 

(Click on image for detail)

 

In Trip, the seated woman absently plays with a miniature Volkswagen bus. As the toy is dragged over her leg, which is covered in a garish flower-stamped dress, we are taken on a mental voyage, in space and in time.

In the Book pieces, the woman is reading The Drama of the Gifted Child, a hugely popular work on child psychology. Are we to assume that the figure is our mother? Are we the gifted child? Was the sitter a gifted child, now attempting to avoid the mistakes of her parents? Can we avoid reading it as a commentary about art?

 

Nuno de Campos

Book #2

2003

graphite on paper

7" x 9" image

30" x 22.5" paper

This is Nuno de Campos' third solo exhibition at Clifford • Smith Gallery. He holds an MFA from Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Nuno de Campos

Book #3

2003

egg tempera on panel

11" x 11"

For more information please e-mail the gallery or call 617 695-0255.