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| STATEMENT |
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Champlin prefers portraiture and emotional scenes of the human bond and of the human condition. It is this energy and emotion that binds the subject with the canvas and forms the symphonic nature of his work. It is the merging of the moment onto the canvas. A symphysis of subject and form. Champlin boldly uses colour and line to express his artistic vision. The colour is weaved together to form a tapestry. Bold lines give a feeling of motion and energy. His works are the passion and energy of life and the fluidity of which life entails.
Painting is the symphysis between artist and subject - the subject and the artist transcends a part of themselves to the painting creating a perfect union. It is a butterfly and the flower, the butterfly paints the flower flowing on the wind to the next to create new life - the miracle of pollenation.
Painting is a way of thought. There are no words really to describe the process as thoughts are emotions and hues and shapes. It is calculated chaos resulting in harmony. Painting is to capture the spirit as if one could take a breath of wind, hold it and give it to another. Painting is the spirit of man transcended onto canvas.
Art will always be interesting as we are innately intrigued about the plight of the human condition and of the plight of ourselves. It is a map of our journey - our past and our future. This is my inspiration. |
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| BIOGRAPHY |
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| Visiting Norway, prompted by his Norwegian heritage, Champlin was exposed to the work of Edvard Munch. Munch’s soulful intensity would later influence Champlin’s approach to painting. Champlin has been working professionally as an artist since 1992 with his first exhibition in Memphis, TN, USA. In 1998, he predominately switched to oils as his medium of preference and marked a significant maturation of his style and content. Champlin has exhibited nationally and sold his artworks internationally and his painting has been featured on the cover of the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine. He currently lives and works in the highlands of Maine. |
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| EDUCATION |
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| The University of TN - Prof/Grad Degree |
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| REPRESENTATION |
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Agora Gallery (New York, NY)
Amsterdam Whitney Gallery (New York, NY)
The Fuschia Tree (F-7 East of Kailash, New Delhi, India)
Contemporary Arts Network (NYC, NY) CANNYC
Artists Haven Gallery (Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA) |
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| SOLO EXHIBITS |
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| GROUP EXHIBITS |
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1992-93: Madison Ave Art Gallery (Memphis, TN). 1997: International Gallery of Art (London, Ont.). 1997-98: Gallery One (Ellensburg, WA) in 1997-1998. Dec 15, 1996: cover of the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine. Oct. 2005: juried show in the Period One gallery Colour III exhibit (Omaha, NE). EBSQ "Wild Birds" Exhibit Apr. 1-30, 2007; EBSQ's "More than Birth " May 1-31, 2007. EBSQ "Better Late Than Never" Exhibit Dec 1-31, 2007 EBSQ "Nude in Art" Exhibit Feb 1-29, 2008 Agora Gallery "Figuratively Speaking" , 25th Street, NYC, NY Feb 29-Mar 20, 2008. Amsterdam Whitney Gallery "Serenade From a Star", 25th Street, NYC, NY Aug 1-Aug 26, 2008; Agora Gallery "Contemporary Perspectives", 25th Street, NYC, NY, Jan 30 - Feb 19, 2009; Amsterdam Whitney Gallery "Salute to the Stars" May 8-Jun 2, 2009 Opening reception May 14, 2009 6-8 EST.; Juried book 2nd art edition 'International Contemporary Masters 2009' editor/curator Despina Tunberg; Harlow Gallery (Augusta, ME) Dec. 4 - 13, 2009 8x10x80
Recent Exhibits:
Upcoming Exhibits:
Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Art (Las Vegas, NV) " International Contemporary Masters" Feb 20, 2010 - Avr 4, 2010 Opening reception Feb 20, 2010
Amsterdam Whitney Gallery (NYC, NY) 25th Street, Avr 2-27, 2010 Opening Reception: Avr 8, 2010 18:00-20:00 EST
Agora Gallery, 25th Street, NYC, NY, Jun 4, 2010 - Jun 25, 2010 Opening reception Jun 10, 2010 18:00-20:00 EST
Artists Haven Gallery (Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA) Dec 1 - 31, 2010 Opening reception: Dec 4, 2010 |
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| ARTICLES |
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Agora Gallery 2010 Review said:
D. Loren Champlin’s work engages the viewer on a visceral level. He is perhaps most concerned with portraiture and scenes that portray highly emotional human relationships or comments on the human condition. This direct emotional link between the subject matter and the artist is transmitted directly to the viewer, creating a strong emotional bond between the viewer and artist that lends his work an extraordinary pathos. Working with a vibrant palette of earth tones which resonate deeply with each other – rich oxblood reds, puce and Prussian blues abut vivid greens, yellows and swirling orange – Champlin’s strong sweeping brushstrokes weave a tapestry of expression. Here, painting is the ultimate synthesis between artist and subject matter. Both are transformed, taken away from themselves and made into a third entity that captures representational images with emotion.
D. Loren Champlin lives in the highland of Maine. A professional artist since 1992, he is currently working on two series, the largest of which is his ‘Songs of the Son’.
Art-Mine
Art Acquisitor 2009 Review said:
Edvard Munch once said 'I do not paint what I see but what I saw.' Contemporary artist D. Loren Champlin continues the tradition of expressionism with his engaging oil paintings. Mr. Champlin explores the complexity of the emotional experience by creating a world where appearances are intrisically linked to pathos.
Mr. Champlin paints with sweeping brushstrokes which convey movement on the canvas. His style illustrates a unique optimism, depicting heartwarming subject matter such as children playing. Colors such as fresh oranges and crisp greens grace the canvas like lapping waves. The hues correspond with profound emotions rather than a literal translation of substantive hues. The application of line does not strictly adhere to the rules of reality as the lines seem to have a spirit unto them.
D. Loren Champlin has been exhibited nationally and has been sold internationally. His work has been featured on the cover of the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine.
Art Acquisitor; Vol 7, Num 1, page 41
ArtisSpectrum Magazine 2009 Review said:
"D . Loren Champlin’s dramatic, expressionist paintings capture the emotional textures of landscapes with a passion equal to that with which he paints the human body. For Loren, bodies and landscapes are expressions of a shared universal essence, and he surrounds his subjects within stormy swirls and eddies that evoke a symphony of moods and aesthetic ideas. There is an iconic feel to his works, suggesting that these domestic scenes and landscapes carry in their dramatic brushwork the weight of greater significance. Loren has said that painting is an act of primal communication, and that an unspoken union between artist and subject is created, as they both transcend the moment to create a perfect merger through the artwork. His subjects at times seem about to dissolve into a lava of passion or an ecstatic explosion of particles, and therein lies the tension in Loren’s work: life’s progress seems to have halted in his paintings, but halted at a moment of great significance. His subjects are suspended in the artistic moment. The human condition is Loren’s muse, a vulnerability expressed in his bold brushwork and the emotional tumult it conveys. It is these emotional ties that bind the subject to the canvas and help create the symphony of meaning in his paintings."
ArtisSpectrum Vol. 21
Agora Gallery 2009 Press Review said:
D. Loren Champlin's works explore the textures of the human body in forms that move beyond naturalism to expressionist virtuosity. Through brushwork that is bold as well as detailed, Loren's portraits, landscapes and abstracts express a powerful and sensitive empathy for the human condition and our place in the universe. Like fellow Norwegian Edvard Munch, Loren's subjects are often surrounded by emotionally resonant eddies of color, light and shadow which inject his vivid paintings with personal whirlpools and emotional imprints; these swirls and eddies bespeak a whole world of emotions and metaphysical views that are visually arresting as well as psychologically insightful.
Loren's skilled and sensitive work in portraiture binds his subjects with the canvas and forms the holistic nature of his work. His subjects are indeed wrapped in their passions, yet they do not lose their humanity- they do, in fact, gain a universal appeal due to the delicate brushwork that is the base of their portraits.
ArtisSpectrum Magazine 2008 Review said:
D. Loren Champlin understands life’s ephemeral fragility and he understands the importance of the moment. In his paintings, fluid mark-making unites subjects with their surroundings, creating an instantaneously uplifting harmony of forms. Champlin, who has maintained a keen awareness of spirituality since childhood, understand the potential art has to transform figures and settings into dreamscapes that are at once celestial and accessible. He weaves together color and texture, intertwines figures and nature, and synthesizes stillness with movement. Ultimately, his paintings are about the liquid interaction between the spiritual realm and the physical world.
Visiting Norway as a student, Champlin was exposed to the work of Edvard Munch. Munch’s soulful intensity would later influence Champlin’s approach to painting, as would Norway’s majestic landscape. The relationship between nature, spirituality and humanity that dictates Champlin’s work also reflects the artist’s familiarity with the symbolism and iconography of the Catholic Church, a familiarity that has helped him visualize normally intangible ideas.
Champlin primarily works in oil, a medium known for its emotive viscosity. His bold line work and uninhibited use of color give his paintings a confident energy, inviting viewers into an invigorating, sensorial experience. Champlin has exhibited nationally and his painting has been featured on the cover of the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine. He currently lives and works in the highlands of Maine.
Agora Gallery, 2007 said:
The highly textured portraits by painter D. Loren Champlin express the tumultuous experience of an intense inner life. His artwork is, as he says, "calculated chaos resulting in harmony" through his skilled fusion of lines and color within the human bodies he paints. Even if his subjects are motionless, the textures which make up their bodies reveal a multifarious nature.
Champlin's artistic vision is focused on merging the moment of inspiration with the commitment of painting. To capture the human life in a single instant, in a pose, or embrace, Champlin exceeds the bounds of portraiture and inhabits an expressionism reminiscent of fellow Norwegian Edvard Munch. Tides of color roil around his subjects like auras, and are echoed in similar ebbs within the limbs and faces of those he brings to the canvas. The human condition has always been Champlin's concern, and that vulnerability is expressed, ironically, in his bold brushwork and the tumult it conveys. D. Loren Champlin's paintings embrace the fleeting moment wherein the human character is revealed.
ArtisSpectrum Magazine 2007 Review said
In moody, expressionisitic drags of paint D. Loren Champlin exposes the brutalities and joys derived of human passion. Deep reds, flesh tones, and azures swirl across the canvas, emphasizing the emotion of the subject matter. The style is highly reminiscent of Edvard Munch, whose works influenced the Pittsburgh-born Champlin when he was living in Norway as a teenager.
The nude is a common motif in Champlin's paintings, but has varied meanings. Some are peaceful and meditative, while others are sensual or even grotesque. Each, however, exposes a truthof the individual's character. Champlin also paints scenes of musicians and familial outings. These paintings are visual stories of people absorbed by their surroundings and the things that make them happy.
Champlin's works are wrought with the raw emotion of the human experience. Themes such as romantic ardor, parental love, betrayal, and contemplation show the multiplicity of life. Invoking the untamable spirit of a stallion, his paintings emanate intensity, energy, and movement.
Amsterdam Whitney 2008 Review said:
"Artist Umberto Boccioni stated: "A portrait to be a work of art, neither must nor may resemble the sitter. . . one must paint its atmosphere." The works by Master Artist D. Loren Champlin are more than modest portraits - they capture agonizing heartache and profound beauty. The atmosphere that Boccioni speaks of is exactly what Mr. Champlin has painted. This is a portrait not just of the sitter, but also the energy and world around them. The raw emotions of the figure come through in the mesmerizing combination of color and line. He paints with bold strokes, confidently displaying the spinning environment with moves that are deft and sure. The swirling vortexes he constructs create amorphous backgrounds which are the perfect complement to the subjects of the foreground.
At their bases, the paintings rely on vivid colors and clean lines to evoke such turbulent emotions. The portraits depict people at an emotional peak - whether it is pain or pleasure - that transcends the borders of the canvas and draws the viewer in to share in the emotional anguish. Mr. Champlin's goal has been achieved, as the viewer not only sympathizes with those portrayed, but is able to see a little of themselves in the portrait. Mr. Champlin connects to the elemental human suffering that everyone carries with them.
Mr. Champlin's expressionist influences can be seen in both his direct use of stunning color and moving subject matter. The work of a strong expressionist painter such as Mr. Champlin projects its message without unnecessary fanfare. Capturing human suffering at its core, Mr. Champlin's work is at once poignant and heart-wrenching, and plays to a profound, common, human emotion.
Mr. Champlin currently lives in Maine with his wife and son. He has exhibited in New York, Washington, and Tennessee, as well as internationally. He has been painting professionally since 1992. He is a member of EBSQ and bas been featured in many juried shows." |
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| OTHER INFO |
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| Affiliations: Juried Member Absolute Arts, Master Member United Creators, Member Kennebec Valley Art Association |
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| SCHOOL INFO |
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