The Geechee Contemporary | A Conversation with artist, Leroy Campbell

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Leroy Campbell was born into the rich culture of the Gullah people of Charleston, South Carolina in 1956. His heritage—overflowing with a vital history and language—would play a significant role in his art in later years.

© Leroy Campbell

In his young years he found that he was subconsciously drawn to art so he spent a lot of his time ‘doodling’ on desks and clothes. Despite his ‘doodling,’ Campbell wasn’t particularly driven to create art professionally. Years after high school he took a job working in a nursing home. He had moved from South Carolina, and was now living in New York City.

© Leroy Campbell

It seems that art was pursuing Campbell (unbeknownst to him), and wherever he went, it surrounded him. The nursing home, by which he was employed, had an art gallery, and from time to time, new art would hang there. On one occasion in 1984, the company held an employee art exhibition. Campbell says that he placed several pieces in the exhibition, and when he sold them for $15 each, he was thrilled. After those sales, Campbell started to recognize his talent, and though he received a high level of support and encouragement from his co-workers about his art, he was more focused on growing in the career that he was in. Campbell enrolled in one of the top creative schools in the United States, Pratt Institute, however, he wasn’t there to study art, he had enrolled in a Dietary Therapy Program. 

Divine Order © Leroy Campbell

When he returned from school during a break, he realized that the company he worked for was on strike, and massive changes were happening with his job. One of supervisors, who was always exceedingly supportive of his art, offered him a position as an art teacher at a new community organization that he was opening. Elated by the offer, and the encouragement of some of his classmates at Pratt, Campbell was finally motivated enough to venture out with his art.

No Man Band © Leroy Campbell

Some of his classmates offered to sell his works in downtown Brooklyn, and after some of his first sales—moving pieces for $12 to $15—he decided that he wanted to be around more artists. He was no longer employed with the company, and could no longer attend school (because his job was paying for his education), so he delved more deeply into what he had always loved. He took his art to West 4^th Street where he found new and abundant clientele...and soon he ended up selling art in The Village. It was there that an unexpected art career began to grow for Campbell. He connected with other artists, and together they had shows. He was able to network with art galleries for exhibitions, but it wasn’t until he connected with a publishing distributor that his name became more public. They highlighted and marketed his work in different venues, and soon his art began to become popular in many art communities.

Release © Leroy Campbell

Campbell is well known for his silhouetted Mannerist style images, with elongated necks, legs and arms. He says that his art has, “Spiritual underpinnings.” His style inspiration came from the notion of using stick figures, and also from images he saw in the silhouetted introduction of a television show called, ‘Saints.’  He was also greatly inspired by the stylized art of Ernie Barnes. Campbell’s early works were all paint, but his recent works are laden with mixed media elements like paper, fabric, found objects, and recently old African American Newspapers.  His collage inspirations came from two of the artists who influenced his work the most, Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.

On a trip to Washington D.C., Campbell fell in love with the art of Jacob Lawrence, and three years later he was able to speak to him briefly about his life and art when Lawrence spoke at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. “Meeting Jacob Lawrence made a profound impact on my life, and helped to confirm my place in the visual arts community.”

Self Educate © Leroy Campbell

Peace of Mind © Leroy Campbell

               

He says that his goal as an artist is to praise the human spirit, and he wants to encourage people to do things, “in spite of.” Many of his stylized images reflect the ideologies of the Gullah culture from a contemporary perspective, and through his most recent series, “The Newspaper Series,” he deals with some of the history and meaning of newspapers in Gullah tradition. In Gullah tradition, newspapers play a significant role in protection from evil and benevolent spirits. Many of his pieces feature imagery reminiscent of his childhood living in the south, and his adult life in New York City. His goal is to show the viewer that we are all connected notwithstanding locale and time.

Hand in Hand © Leroy Campbell

Campbell says that he doesn’t believe in the concept of 'starving artist', because there are always ways that an artist can make money, even if they have to work a formal job in the meantime. He believes passionately that artists need to create not only for themselves, but for humanity. Campbell believes that if you create art solely for money, you can easily loose track of your greater purpose. He says of his art, “These images are my way of reexamining some of the moments that have helped to shape African American culture, and render us whole.”

Art History  © Leroy Campbell

Leroy Campbell is an internationally recognized visual artist, who has been collected and printed extensively in America and abroad. When he is not traveling and speaking, you can find him most often in his studio creating emphatically and passionately.

To learn more about this artist please visit his website here, http://www.leroycampbelloriginals.com/

     “Whatever you are looking for is looking for you."

- Leroy Campbell 2012

 All images are © copyrighted by the artist unless otherwise noted. Images cannot be reproduced without permission of the artist.

 Cultured Artists™ ©2012