Dennis Campay

"Old Man and the Sea" Contemporary Mixed Media on Panel Framed Painting

“Dennis Campay is a true original, whose gift pulled him out of his travails to where he is today; the most consistently exciting painter in the south, one of the best Americans in years. He went through an unending apprenticeship such as no one does today, yet none of those lessons were lost or useless. His age-old themes have never been more urgently felt; this is why his paintings are new...” said John T. Spike, Florence, Italy. Art historian, curator and author Campay was born in 1950 in Portsmouth, Virginia. Campay began his artistic career at the age of 37. He received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from the Atlanta College of Art at 42. Considered one of the most classic visual storytellers, Campay invites the viewer into his languorous, richly colored worlds of reverie, reality, intimacy and spiritual journey. His kaleidoscopic mixed-media scenes present a mesmerizing mix of columns, water towers, bridges, and silvery bodies of water, all of which were inspired by his travels. The solitary pianos and ubiquitous chairs take their place where interiors and exteriors blend and beckon, evoking memories, illusions and dreams. Campay takes a question or observation and connects those principals and theories with emblems, symbols and signs creating the imagery represented in many of his architectural compositions. This philosophy combined with his passion for drawing enables him to build and construct pictures that embody proportion, harmony, inspiration and spiritually… evidence that leaves much for the viewer to feel, reason and reflect upon. Campay has participated in numerous solo and group shows throughout his career and is the recipient of many awards.