Journal

Abstract painter and Westport-based artist Liz Leggett is in the CAMP Spotlight this month. Known for her dynamic process-driven works, Liz's paintings and drawings explore speed, tension, rebuilding, and balance. Through energetic mark-making and vivid colors, her pieces blur the line between abstraction and imagery, creating visual confusion and ambiguity that invite visceral responses.

Read on for more insights into Leggett's latest work, and dive into her unique approach as she continues exploration with pieces that challenge perception and invite multiple interpretations.

Ahead of our second VOLTA fair of the year, CAMP registrar and curator Gabe Torres sits down for a brief interview. Torres discusses the challenges of assembling a diverse group of artists for the exhibition, particularly when their stylistic differences are so pronounced.

Drawing on personal experiences and inspirations, the curator reflects on how realism takes center stage in the exhibition as the bridge connecting our understanding of the human experience.

Joining us this time for our latest question with the artist is fiber and mixed media artist Alan Neider, where we ask him the simple question on the surface, but a never easy one to answer: What is Art?

We've gotten a swathe of inspiration from our last artist interview, and how it makes the artist delve into not just what art is to them, but what their art means to others, and so Alan gives his insight on not only this, but what lead to his latest series of work.

The CAMP’s participation in VOLTA is particularly meaningful considering the way the fair’s ethos aligns with ours—an intentional and accessible relationship with art. Keep reading for a deep dive into Booth 215 with artists Idris Habib, Evelyn Politzer, Silvana Soriano, and Franck de las Mercedes.

This is Introducing, a series of questions and answers sent to the latest artists joining The CAMP  in their own words: their journeys, their inspirations, and even some tidbits you may not find in a run-of-the-mill interview, this time featuring Mabelin Castellanos.

CAMPER Amy Clarke, was fortunate enough to sit down and talk with a man who embodies the truth of what it is to be a creative—native New Yorker, artist, and designer Joseph Ginsberg. Gifted with what seems to be an innate artistic vision, the artist has been dreaming and drawing since he was a child. Fast forward to the present day, and the artist has gathered over 40 years of professional experience the industry from painting or blowing glass in his studio, to designing hotel lobbies from top to bottom. With such a variety of outlets, Amy wanted to talk with Ginsberg himself to find out how which speaks more to him. Who is Joseph Ginsberg to Joseph Ginsberg? 

"I like it when people come up to me and tell me that that my work has brought them joy, or that it’s given them goosebumps. It means I must be doing something right, but then again, it is beyond my control. I can only hope that they will take something away from it."

This is Introducing, a series of questions and answers sent to the latest artists joining The CAMP  in their own words: their journeys, their inspirations, and even some tidbits you may not find in a run-of-the-mill interview. Today, we'd like to introduce Ghanaian visual artist Derrick Okanta.

It's been a while since we heard from the elusive Melanie Prapopoulos. The artist, gallery director, and den mother to a crew exclusively made up of creative twenty-somethings, has led CAMP into 2022 without stopping for a breath. 

The magic of an opening night or event in the gallery is in the final product, but it doesn't mean that getting there isn't an experience on its own. Read on for Brianna's reflections on Westport's preparing for the closing of Not Dior's New Look III, and for the debut of the long-awaited CAMP Signature Cocktail (yes!)

I imagine that centuries ago, “outsider” would include any women, Black people, Indigenous people—in other words, anyone who wasn’t categorically known as Man from the dawn of Gender and Race—who had the guts to defy social expectations and put their creativity out there. I’d like to think that the greatest artists across all media are people who are, in the deepest sense of the word, novices or art babes who either lacked access to “formal training” or weren’t considered person enough (which, like, gross) to be included in The Conversation, and decided they didn’t need that to express their innermost brilliance. 

So, I gift these musings as creative fodder, and I present this exhibition, which was absolutely magical for someone who’s on an eternal quest to interrogate everything until its bones sing, as a moment of reflection on whether Art is a gatekeep-y, awkward stringing together or Western norms and attitudes that demands one to give in, or if it’s just something We do, love, and care for. 

At The CAMP, we believe that linking up with other creatives is the key to making powerful changes in our world, and working with FFC is only a footstep on that journey for both of us. Following CAMP founder Melanie Prapopoulos’ commitment to donating a percentage of gallery sales to Fashion Fights Cancer, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 that offers innovative and therapeutic programs in fashion and design, what was once a fun digital exhibition has blossomed into a conversation, and ultimately, a force for good. 

British photographer Vicky Martin's work is driven by a fundamental, nuanced reflection of the feminine experience, toeing the boundaries of “real” and “made up”. 

At The CAMP, we believe that linking up with other creatives is the key to making powerful changes in our world, and working with FFC is only a footstep on that journey for both of us. Following CAMP founder Melanie Prapopoulos’ commitment to donating a percentage of gallery sales to Fashion Fights Cancer, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 that offers innovative and therapeutic programs in fashion and design, what was once a fun digital exhibition has blossomed into a conversation, and ultimately, a force for good. 

Christy Powers engages with the concepts of memory and reality through an adept reappropriation of photographic principles.

At The CAMP, we believe that linking up with other creatives is the key to making powerful changes in our world, and working with FFC is only a footstep on that journey for both of us. Following CAMP founder Melanie Prapopoulos’ commitment to donating a percentage of gallery sales to Fashion Fights Cancer, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 that offers innovative and therapeutic programs in fashion and design, what was once a fun digital exhibition has blossomed into a conversation, and ultimately, a force for good. 

Dutch photographer Alice de Kruijs challenges long-held ideas of just whom gets to be considered beautiful, highlighting that 'fashion' is more about energy than the standards that have been decided for us. 

At The CAMP, we believe that linking up with other creatives is the key to making powerful changes in our world, and working with FFC is only a footstep on that journey for both of us. Following CAMP founder Melanie Prapopoulos’ commitment to donating a percentage of gallery sales to Fashion Fights Cancer, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 that offers innovative and therapeutic programs in fashion and design, what was once a fun digital exhibition has blossomed into a conversation, and ultimately, a force for good. 

Writer and photographer Fares Micue plays with aesthetics to tease apart the complex emotions, providing us with a vibrant foray into visual storytelling. 

At The CAMP, we believe that linking up with other creatives is the key to making powerful changes in our world, and working with FFC is only a footstep on that journey for both of us. Following CAMP founder Melanie Prapopoulos’ commitment to donating a percentage of gallery sales to Fashion Fights Cancer, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 that offers innovative and therapeutic programs in fashion and design, what was once a fun digital exhibition has blossomed into a conversation, and ultimately, a force for good. 

Franck de las Mercedes, a Nicaraguan artist based in New York who is best known for having a signature aesthetic, digs through his own archives for Not Dior's New Look III.

At The CAMP, we believe that linking up with other creatives is the key to making powerful changes in our world, and working with FFC is only a footstep on that journey for both of us. Following CAMP founder Melanie Prapopoulos’ commitment to donating a percentage of gallery sales to Fashion Fights Cancer, a non-profit organization founded in 2004 that offers innovative and therapeutic programs in fashion and design, what was once a fun digital exhibition has blossomed into a conversation, and ultimately, a force for good. 

London-based artist and illustrator Isher Dhiman is playing her part in the conversation about whether "art" and "fashion" are as mutually exclusive as we've been led to believe.

As a gallery, we treasure visiting our artists' studios to look at new works, plan for future projects, and catch up. Join our CAMPers as they stop by Aurora Molina's and Molly Gambardella's studios for an intimate look at their creative spaces.

Just a few weeks after Margaret Roleke’s solo exhibition, March on Society, opened at the Contemporary Art Modern Project, the American public has been briefed with record high gun violence statistics.

The New Yorker’s David Rohde stated in an article published earlier this week, that “more than 20,000 people were killed by gun violence in America in 2021, a jump in roughly thirty per cent from the previous year”. Though the spike in gun violence numbers does not come as much of a surprise, the question of how to move forward and what changes could be made linger in the minds of most Americans.

Margaret Roleke’s January exhibition at the CAMP Gallery in Westport presented an exploration and a space to reflect on America’s violent tendencies. With the works in the exhibition, including sculptural works, cyanotypes, and silkscreen prints, Margaret makes this harsh reality known using an inviting technique and whimsical objects. 

She reflects the American reality back at us using toy soilders in pieces Lace Wars and Baby Blue War, considering the introduction to these violent tendencies starts at a young age. 

By utilizing rich blue colors in her cyanotypes and shapes familiar to the flag, Roleke mirrors these American values by manipulating the stripes to cover up the words "Hope" and "Unite" in her silkscreen prints. Even pointing out the effect on the lives of childern in sculptural work, McDonaldland, using McDonald happy meal toys, American childhood reliecs.

Gently guiding the viewer to approach the piece, Margaret fuels one to ask the challenging question itself: What happens next? How do we move forward? How can these numbers change?

As we continue our third-annual collaboration with Fiber Artists Miami Association, the exhibition, Women Pulling at the Threads of Social Discourse, continues to reveal just how layered the original premise is at its core. If there's anything we've learned over the years, it's that fiber's adaptable quality extends beyond its material capabilites. The idea that textile art holds a dual nature in its capacity to be equally tender and jarring brings about necessary, albeit poignant, questions of its role within the context of "fine" art, as well as just how much validity our societies are willing to afford to the feminine experience. 

This year's edition, which features 100 pieces displayed as massive quilt, can be explored from perspectives totaling to the same, whether they're present subconsciously or explicitly. What is certain and unquestionable is that the democratization of the fine art industry allows us, the audience, to interrogate ourselves better, and more deeply, than a run-of-the mill homogeneity allows. Whether one feels uncomfortable, affrimed, or like they've learned something they weren't expecting to, what unites both the artists and the audience is the idea that self-expression isn't something personal, and instead something that is more often than not done in the same of unity.

In typical CAMP fashion, we're interested in what the artists have to say—about their relationship with textiles, whether fiber art and fine art are as mutually exclusive as we've been lead to believe, and about their nature as artists. Read on to get to know Laetitia Adam-Rabel, Natalia Schonowski, Viviana Romero, Sandra Onetti, Maria Lino, Leslie McKinley, Laura Marsh, and Nancy Billings.

The Contemporary Art Modern Project is also known as The CAMP Gallery—but we've grown to become a platform for artists and artistic endeavors across the board. 

As such, we're honored to feature Juliana Torres' final thesis When Art Embraces Real Life: The Role of Non-Artistic, Ordinary Materials in Art Democratization.  You can view Torres' contribution to our upcoming exhibition, the third-annual installment of Women Pulling at the Threads of Social Discourse, opening October 1, 2021.

Society has been guided, willingly or otherwise, by leaders and extremists that have turned our nightmares into playgrounds of misinformation and superstition, and entwined survival and politics. This is sadly reminiscent of events in the Dark and Middle Ages, where then, at least, one can argue that they did not have the knowledge, nor the scientific understanding, that we have in this new and current century. Whether it can be contextualized as a mirror or a foreshadowing of the present moment, riots were rampant, attacks on government buildings and attempted coups the norm, and even grander class disparities; uniting these separate historical experiences is the collective inaction of the everyday person. 

CAMP founder (and curator of our recent Spring/Break Art Show booth) Melanie Prapopoulos leaned into the concept of Heresay:Heresy to create a contemporary version of an ages-old trope: the wizard's lair. Instead of hosting a vision of an elder seer with prophecies at the ready, The CAMP's Wizard's Room questioned the reality of our human creation and fused the perspectives of artists Dominik Schmitt, Aurora Molina, Leslie Sheryll, Tracy Nicholls, and photographers Michael Garlington and Natalia Bertotti in hopes of attaining some answers.

Lucky for us, she also asked them directly!

Welcome to CAMP Conversations, an editorial space brought to you by The Contemporary Art Modern Project! At The CAMP, we’re firm believers in the power of the intimate relationship between art and those who love art, and we’re happy to champion it in our approach to a nearly-inaccessible industry. CAMP Conversations are written to promote thoughtful dialogue exploring the art industry embedded with our sophisticated brand of snark, involving artists, gallery employees, and our beloved audience.

Whether it is sculpting, painting, photography, design or fashion, even if someone once said that “the medium is the message”, within an artistic production there can often be a tendency towards a specific narrative, which is visceral and detached from the media that is used to express it. Stefano Ogliari Badessi (S.O.B.), opens up a world of joint ventures and collective collaborations, whilst always gravitating around the themes of nomadism and strayness.

Last March, we were in New York for SPRING / BREAK during New York’s winter art week—this March though has been quite different from that experience! It was an interesting month with new artists joining our roster, new ideas brewing in the minds and offices of the CAMP, and a new look on social media, and always a new gallery exhibition.

Welcome to CAMP Conversations, an editorial space brought to you by The Contemporary Art Modern Project, this edition featuring CAMP spotlight artist and fine art photographer Ellen Friedlander who was included in our recent online exhibition, The Fragmented Frame, a collection of photography works over a 10 year period that aimed to highlight the nuanced changes we are all experiencing in this time of COVID-19.

This is Introducing, a series of questions and answers sent to the latest artists joining The CAMP and The CAMP Spotlight: their journeys, their inspirations, and even some tidbits you may not find in a run-of-the-mill interview, this time featuring Tracy Nicholls!

This is Introducing, a series of questions and answers sent to the latest artists joining The CAMP and The CAMP Spotlight: their journeys, their inspirations, and even some tidbits you may not find in a run-of-the-mill interview, featuring one of our newest artists, Carol Erb!

This is Introducing, a series of questions and answers sent to the latest artists joining The CAMP and The CAMP Spotlight: their journeys, their inspirations, and even some tidbits you may not find in a run-of-the-mill interview, this time featuring Molly Brocklehurst!

To kick off 2021, we're bringing you a new CAMPerspectives series: Introducing.

In this series, you'll learn about artists joining The CAMP and The CAMP Spotlight: their journeys, their inspirations, and even some tidbits you may not find in a run-of-the-mill interview.

The CAMP Gang and myself have been a little quiet since December but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy! Since the marathon which was 2020, we rested for a couple of days and hurled ourselves into 2021. Our plan this year is to put together 34 exhibitions both online and physical, but knowing me, and the gang, we will do more than that!

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

Except you’ll be hearing from the CAMP Gang this New Year’s Eve.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

We closed one gallery, opened a new one, moved gallery locations, took part in online fairs, did online exhibitions, in-gallery exhibitions, signed new artists—I watched the CAMP team grow all from Westport, Connecticut! It has been an exercise in organizing and trusting the Miami and New York team, which has paid off.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

2020 is on its way out of our collective memory, though not without fully overhauling life as we’ve known it. In the spirit of growth and community, we bring you The CAMP’s 2020 Roundup, a small interview series featuring reflections from our CAMP and CAMP Spotlight artists.

Welcome to CAMP Conversations, an editorial space brought to you by The Contemporary Art Modern Project! I'm Mario Rodriguez, CAMP's resident social media guru and operations staffer, and I have the unique chance to always keep abreadth of all the wonderful things we're working on and new developments with our lovely artists. Johnny Ramstedt is one such artist, and we are so excited to be exhibiting his work in Monokhromos II!

 Welcome to CAMP Conversations, an editorial space brought to you by The Contemporary Art Modern Project! I'm CAMP creative, curator, and art dealer Andres J. Mora, taking over this little space for the first time to facilitate our readers a look into the work and process of one of my personal favorite artists to work with, Vicky Martin.

October was a whirlwind in The CAMP Gallery, not just because of the success of our two exhibitions: 40 Women Pulling at The Threads of Social Discourse: F.A.M.A & Guests, and Feminism From South to North, but also because we moved locations!