08 February 2013

F. Lennox Campello and Artomatic Artists

Left to right: Cory Oberndorfer, Thrust: Bombpop on Silver #2; Shanthi Chandrasekar, Chakra-Blue Spiral; M Helene Baribeau, mapKnit dress, Erwin Timmers, Rebound; David S D'Orio, Feeder 129

Washington, D.C.-area arts blogger, art critic, curator and artist F. Lennox Campello curates a show of 35 artists who have participated in Artomatic in the past.

"From the vast resources of the last Artomatic, I could have easily organized a curated show with a strict focus on flowers, or nudes, or politics, or sex, or robots, or chickens, or music, or green art, or extra-terrestrials, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera (Note to self: do some of these shows in the future.)

Instead, and drawing from my spectacularly enviable experience in assembling ass-kicking art shows, I used what I call 'The Campello Group Show Success Formula.'"
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excerpted from Campello's curator's statement.


Including both new and old work by the artists, the show is taking place at Pepco's Edison Place Gallery in downtown D.C. during the last three weeks of February 2013. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Friday, noon - 4 p.m.
(This interview has been edited from its original version.)

1. Using your time-tested "Campello Group Show Success Formula" of mixing established and emerging artists, you have assembled 35 artists who have participated in Artomatic in the past for this February's Pepco Edison Place Gallery show. How does their united body of work pay tribute to Artomatic?

 I am not sure it is a tribute as much as an experienced curator's hand at presenting a mini version of an Artomatic-like group show that still retains that progressive, anything goes approach to artwork that traditional art critics seem to hate so much about the real Artomatic, which intensifies their demand for the heavy hand of a curator to cull down the vibrant freedom of an artistic community liberated from traditional boundaries.

Critics generally hate Artomatic because they are not equipped in any intellectual way to write about a show with 1,000 artists. That would require them to visit the show six to seven times, while still getting paid for just one review, when they are used to visiting a gallery or a museum with brains tuned to evaluating a single artist or group show rather than 1,000 artists ranging from disturbingly awful to spectacularly good.

In this mini Artomatic, I have broken down the real thing for them in the hopes of restoring some intellectual honesty to their critical opinions.

2. What media are represented in the show?

All: painting, sculpture, video, photography, digital, textile, drawing and artists who are marrying different media to push boundaries.

3. Artomatic is an enormous art event. What is the best way to navigate it from a visitor's point of view?

There is no art event on planet earth like Artomatic. I am pretty sure that this is the world's largest group visual arts show, and by the time you add up all the associated performances, plays, music and parties, one of the largest arts events on the planet.

There is no way to "see" Artomatic in one visit. With 1,000 artists each usually showing roomfuls of work, it is physically impossible. Thus, the best way to navigate Artomatic is to either decide to be a casual observer and go one once for a few hours, wandering around aimlessly and missing 90% of the art while still seeing 100 artists, or plan several visits - maybe synchronized with some parties - and work meticulously from floor to floor.

That is how I do it. Last time it took me seven or eight visits.

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