Lee Campbell

Artist's Statement

Lee Campbell

Studied at The Heatherley School of Art
Chelsea College of Art
Canterbury College of Art (BA Hons) 1991
University of Kent (MA) 1994

In 1995 Campbell became the first Resident Artist of King’s School Canterbury. She was based in Blackfriars, a 13th century Dominican Priory home to the school’s art department. In contrast, she was also commissioned by The University of Kent to paint a mural for the Space Research Unit. Following this, she worked as Resident Artist at Canterbury’s Christ Church College, where she taught and exhibited work based on local architecture.

Returning to London in 1997 Campbell became the Resident Artist at St. Saviour’s Church, Pimlico; working in the cavernous gloom of the empty church she explored the dramatic play of light upon the rich interior surfaces.

Following a 2 year residency for Westminster Council (on Grosvenor Docks), studying the urban riverside of Pimlico, she is now based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham.

She has run painting workshops at Tate Britain and currently teaches at the Heatherley School of Art in Chelsea. Her work is held in private collections worldwide.

Artist’s Statement
The essence of my work is distilled from my immediate surroundings and the current series is derived from the seasonal fluctuations of Richmond Park and the Thames-side. My intention is to use colour to generate different moods and to suggest dimensions hidden within familiar locations.

My choice of colours is influenced by the lakes and rivers of New Zealand, where I spent my childhood. The vibrant turquoise blues of the Pacific Ocean and the golds of the South Island hill country are infused with the haunting mists of the Thames riverside, and the changing skies and leaves visible through the skylights of my studio. The recent work has evolved from my interpretation and fusion of these two realities.

Winner of the Worshipful Company of Painter Stainers Award 1998