Damon Campagna is a multidisciplinary artist and curator currently working in Rhode Island. Damon’s current work is informed by his career in the museum field, specifically documenting 9/11 World Trade Center-related artifacts for the New York City Fire Department. This experience intensely shapes and affects his practice, which involves the analysis, logging, and curation of self through mark making, and the ramifications of that pursuit. The possibility that we may form self-image and examine our existence through a self-curated collection of our creations is integral to his work. Damon’s work bridges the gap between printmaking and immersive installation.
An MFA 2D graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Damon was included in Abigail Ogilvy Gallery’s 2019 Fresh Faces in Boston, multiple Rhode Island-based group exhibitions in 2021 and 2022 and several projects with the Boston-based BOSSCRITT artists group. He was awarded an Assets for Artists Capacity-Building Grant in March of 2021 and recently featured in experimental print magazine The Hand, Artscope, Create! and Boston Art Review. Damon recently finished a 4-week residency at MASS MoCA.
Artist's Statement
Markmaking is the basis of human civilization. The first human marks date to between 430,000 and 540,00 years ago and aren’t even from our species – they belong to Homo erectus. They predate language, yet remarkably appear as if they were made yesterday. Although their context has been stripped away, these ancient engravings are undeniably that of a specific individual. In studying and documenting their physical characteristics, we appreciate the marks’ simple beauty.
My practice is currently in a transitional phase. For several years I have explored the idea that markmaking is comparable to vital signs like a heartbeat or blood sugar level, as well as a fundamental expression of self. Drawing from my experience in the museum field, particularly having documented 9/11 artifacts, I’ve meticulously documented and collected my markmaking in a variety of media, considering each piece both a complete entity and a potential artifact for self-exploration. I’ve invited viewers to reflect on the consequences of obsessively analyzing one's own creations through a clinical, analytical lens. Through detailed documentation, I’ve aimed to bridge diverse artistic mediums, encouraging contemplation on the essence of self, expressed through art.
Until recently, this pursuit has been presented as an objective experiment, a “what if” scenario in which installation pieces offer a glimpse into the world of an artist obsessed with finding “answers.” However, the emergence of COVID brought the real-world mental health concerns of myself and the creative people around me into focus. Although my interest of markmaking and the self hasn’t changed, my practice has begun to shift from one of archival objectivity to one of personal response.
From the Fountain Street Annex Blog:
My work is summed up in my Artist’s Statement [see above]. When I initially started exploring the idea of the mark as part of the extended self (which is the self, plus the “stuff” that we possess or create that helps define our identity), I soon realized that that the business of analyzing the mark in a literal sense wasn’t all that interesting. After all, tech companies are constantly analyzing artwork in an attempt to catch creativity in a bottle. Christie’s recently held the first auction for an AI-created artwork, produced by an algorithm studying 15,000 portraits. Evidently a large data-set is required to discover the sort of patterns needed to create a $432,500 portrait from scratch.
My work is summed up in my Artist’s Statement [see above]. When I initially started exploring the idea of the mark as part of the extended self (which is the self, plus the “stuff” that we possess or create that helps define our identity), I soon realized that that the business of analyzing the mark in a literal sense wasn’t all that interesting. After all, tech companies are constantly analyzing artwork in an attempt to catch creativity in a bottle. Christie’s recently held the first auction for an AI-created artwork, produced by an algorithm studying 15,000 portraits. Evidently a large data-set is required to discover the sort of patterns needed to create a $432,500 portrait from scratch.
However, it was much more compelling to think about the person who might be looking at these marks for answers. Someone looking for meaning in their own markmaking, searching for patterns that might answer the “big picture” questions in life, like "why am I here?"
What does that pursuit look like? How would that person define their data-set? Obviously, there would have to be a lot of information – obsessively created, as patterns only emerge with big numbers. I decided there would be a set of rules defining two states, the loop and the line (or mark) and determined procedures to follow to maintain consistency. Also they would create some system for cataloging their collection. From my museum experience, I’ve found that most collectors or small museum owners don’t follow any traditional cataloging system or nomenclature, they often create one based on what they think a professional museum does but built on their own idiosyncrasies and needs. Also, they don’t use special museum collection software for their material – sometimes their catalog just resides in a spiral-bound notebook or 3x5” index cards, and they simply use the equipment around them. They work with what they know.
My graduate work is about probing this imaginary metaphysical quest to find meaning in the scrutiny of one’s own work, of indexing these marks and cataloging them. The project opens up a lot of questions. What would prompt someone to do this in the first place? PTSD? Mid-life crisis? And end-of-life review? Mental illness? And what happens to all this stuff? Where does it go? Does the collector inevitably collapse into what Walter Benjamin called “the allegorist,” for whom “objects represent only keywords in a secret dictionary, which will make known their meanings to the initiated -- precisely the allegorist can never have enough of things.” In other words, when does the collection become a hoard, with things produced and heaped with no rhyme or reason known outside that of their creator? So mental illness and hoarding becomes part of the narrative, too.
Damon Campagna
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Education
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, MFA 2D (Painting/Printmaking), 2019
Rhode Island College, BFA (Painting), 2016
Community College of Rhode Island, AFA 1997
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Education
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, MFA 2D (Painting/Printmaking), 2019
Rhode Island College, BFA (Painting), 2016
Community College of Rhode Island, AFA 1997
Selected Exhibitions
2021 CODED, Beacon Gallery, Boston
2021 Driven to Abstraction: Juried All Media Exhibition, South County Art Association, Kingston, RI
2021 Rhode Island State of the Arts Group Exhibition, University of Rhode Island, Providence
2020 34th Annual Rhode Island Open Juried Exhibition, Warwick Center for the Arts, Warwick, RI
2020 34th Annual Rhode Island Open Juried Exhibition, Warwick Center for the Arts, Warwick, RI
2020 Every Day In August, BOSSCRITT Art Collective group show, Kunstmatrix virtual exhibition, https://www.bosscritt.com/virtual-exhibitions
2020 Rhode Island State of the Arts Group Exhibition, University of Rhode Island, Providence
2019 OneZeroOne Open Juried International Exhibition, The VETS Gallery, Art League Rhode Island, Providence
2019 MassArt MFA 2019 Exhibition, Boston Sculpture Gallery, Boston
2019 JAWS BOSTON Key Party 2019 Exhibition, Stove Factory Gallery, Charlestown, MA
2019 MassArt 2019 Graduate Thesis Satellite Show, Doran Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2019 MassArt 2019 Graduate Thesis Exhibition, MassMOCA, Boston
2019 MassArt 29th Annual Benefit Art Auction, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2019 Fresh Faces Group Show Abigail Oglivy, Boston
2019 Damon Campagna, Deborah Peeples & Ponnapa Prakkamakul, Fountain Street Annex, Boston
2019 Intersections of Scale, Chazan Gallery, Providence
2018 All School Show, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2018 Velir Corporation MassArt Exhibition, Somerville
2018 MassArt 28th Annual Benefit Art Auction, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2017 Damon Campagna: Recent Work, AS220 Main Gallery, Providence
2017 Rhode Island State of the Arts Group Exhibition, University of Rhode Island, Providence
2017 Pawtucket Foundation Prize Exhibition, Pawtucket Arts Collaborative
2016 Rhode Island College Senior Exhibition, Bannister Gallery, Providence
2015 Rhode Island State of the Arts Group Exhibition, University of Rhode Island, Providence
2021 CODED, Beacon Gallery, Boston
2021 Driven to Abstraction: Juried All Media Exhibition, South County Art Association, Kingston, RI
2021 Rhode Island State of the Arts Group Exhibition, University of Rhode Island, Providence
2020 34th Annual Rhode Island Open Juried Exhibition, Warwick Center for the Arts, Warwick, RI
2020 34th Annual Rhode Island Open Juried Exhibition, Warwick Center for the Arts, Warwick, RI
2020 Every Day In August, BOSSCRITT Art Collective group show, Kunstmatrix virtual exhibition, https://www.bosscritt.com/virtual-exhibitions
2020 Rhode Island State of the Arts Group Exhibition, University of Rhode Island, Providence
2019 OneZeroOne Open Juried International Exhibition, The VETS Gallery, Art League Rhode Island, Providence
2019 MassArt MFA 2019 Exhibition, Boston Sculpture Gallery, Boston
2019 JAWS BOSTON Key Party 2019 Exhibition, Stove Factory Gallery, Charlestown, MA
2019 MassArt 2019 Graduate Thesis Satellite Show, Doran Gallery, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2019 MassArt 2019 Graduate Thesis Exhibition, MassMOCA, Boston
2019 MassArt 29th Annual Benefit Art Auction, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2019 Fresh Faces Group Show Abigail Oglivy, Boston
2019 Damon Campagna, Deborah Peeples & Ponnapa Prakkamakul, Fountain Street Annex, Boston
2019 Intersections of Scale, Chazan Gallery, Providence
2018 All School Show, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2018 Velir Corporation MassArt Exhibition, Somerville
2018 MassArt 28th Annual Benefit Art Auction, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2017 Damon Campagna: Recent Work, AS220 Main Gallery, Providence
2017 Rhode Island State of the Arts Group Exhibition, University of Rhode Island, Providence
2017 Pawtucket Foundation Prize Exhibition, Pawtucket Arts Collaborative
2016 Rhode Island College Senior Exhibition, Bannister Gallery, Providence
2015 Rhode Island State of the Arts Group Exhibition, University of Rhode Island, Providence
Residencies
2020 Studios at MASS MoCA Residency (COVID reschedule, June 2021)
2020 Studios at MASS MoCA Residency (COVID reschedule, June 2021)
Selected Curation
2016 Soak It Up, The Drawing Room, Providence
2013 The Rock: FDNY Class 0113: Photographs by Kyra Neeley, NYC Fire Museum
2013 Historic Firehouses: Architectural Photography by Stephen Healey
2012 Conflict Zone, NYC Fire Museum
2011 Lilli M. Albin: Selections From On The Job, NYC Fire Museum
2011 Remembering Their Prayers: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, NYC Fire Museum
2006 2006 Omnium-Gatherum, Warwick Museum of Art
2006 Rhode Island Open19, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Linda Denosky-Smart: Walking on the Ceiling, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Who's Your Patron?, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Women in Self-Portraiture: Hive Archive, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Your Seat Here Is Only Temporary, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Rhode Island Open 18, Warwick Museum of Art
2004 Person, Place Or Thing: New Work by Susan McNally, Warwick Museum of Art
Recent Awards
2019 Honorable Mention, 2019 OneZeroOne Open Juried International Exhibition, Art League RI
2018 Antonio Cirino Memorial Scholarship, Rhode Island Foundation
2018 Patricia Doran Award Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2018 Dean's Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2017 Patricia Doran Award Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2017 Dean's Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2017 Antonio Cirino Memorial Fellowship, Rhode Island Foundation
2016 Senior Departmental Award, Studio Art, Rhode Island College
2016 Soak It Up, The Drawing Room, Providence
2013 The Rock: FDNY Class 0113: Photographs by Kyra Neeley, NYC Fire Museum
2013 Historic Firehouses: Architectural Photography by Stephen Healey
2012 Conflict Zone, NYC Fire Museum
2011 Lilli M. Albin: Selections From On The Job, NYC Fire Museum
2011 Remembering Their Prayers: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, NYC Fire Museum
2006 2006 Omnium-Gatherum, Warwick Museum of Art
2006 Rhode Island Open19, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Linda Denosky-Smart: Walking on the Ceiling, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Who's Your Patron?, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Women in Self-Portraiture: Hive Archive, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Your Seat Here Is Only Temporary, Warwick Museum of Art
2005 Rhode Island Open 18, Warwick Museum of Art
2004 Person, Place Or Thing: New Work by Susan McNally, Warwick Museum of Art
Recent Awards
2019 Honorable Mention, 2019 OneZeroOne Open Juried International Exhibition, Art League RI
2018 Antonio Cirino Memorial Scholarship, Rhode Island Foundation
2018 Patricia Doran Award Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2018 Dean's Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2017 Patricia Doran Award Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2017 Dean's Scholarship, Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2017 Antonio Cirino Memorial Fellowship, Rhode Island Foundation
2016 Senior Departmental Award, Studio Art, Rhode Island College
Recent Publications
“Damon Campagna.” The Hand: The Magazine For Reproduction Art. Issue 33, August 2021. Page 5.
"Documentation Through Mark Making With Damon Campagna." Create Magazine. Issue 23, December 2020. Page 98-99.
“Intersection of Scale: New Perspectives at the Wheeler School.” Artscope Magazine. January/February 2019. Pages 50-51.
“Damon Campagna.” The Hand: The Magazine For Reproduction Art. Issue 33, August 2021. Page 5.
"Documentation Through Mark Making With Damon Campagna." Create Magazine. Issue 23, December 2020. Page 98-99.
“Intersection of Scale: New Perspectives at the Wheeler School.” Artscope Magazine. January/February 2019. Pages 50-51.
Affiliations & Memberships
Hera Educational Foundation and Gallery, Board Member and Artist Member
Art League of Rhode Island, Elected Artist Member
South County Art Association, Artist Member
Warwick Center for the Arts, Artist Member
Fountain Street Gallery, Annex Member, Boston (2018-2019)
Honorary Battalion Chief, Fire Department, City of New York
Art League of Rhode Island, Elected Artist Member
South County Art Association, Artist Member
Warwick Center for the Arts, Artist Member
Fountain Street Gallery, Annex Member, Boston (2018-2019)
Honorary Battalion Chief, Fire Department, City of New York