By Ellen C. Caldwell
Terrence Campagna uses new and found wood to make art that is both painterly and sculptural. Gathering wood from a range of places including Wisconsin, Nebraska, New York and more, Campagna (NAP #101) pieces together beautifully weathered pieces with newer and bolder painted pieces that are inspired by the traffic signs on the interstate.
In a way, his work encapsulates the blurriness our eyes encounter when taking in the juxtaposition of aged buildings and new signs we see while speeding down an interstate. As with all Process of a Painting pieces, we follow Campagna’s work from start to finish…A process which began by filming video studies for inspiration and one which ended with two additional pieces (Untitled) pictured at the end of the post…
In Campgana’s own words, Plumule “is made largely from wood I gathered in the places where I have lived the past year. Mostly I used beautifully weathered wood that was collected from decaying outbuildings in rural Wisconsin. The outbuildings had been built decades ago for storing hay, grains, tools, and animals. These structures have a different way of breathing and translating light then the architectural structures we generally live in.”