Leroy Campbell
Joe Neckbone and Jr.
Pathway
Ushers of the Church
"I give thanks to the great masters past and present for the built bridges and paved roads that makes my journey easier."
"I am a self-taught artist, born, raised, bread, buttered and spread in Charleston, South Carolina, 7/21/56. I spent a lot of time as a child in the country, in the backwoods of South Carolina in a place called Moncks Corner. Moncks Corner is where my mother, aunts, uncles, brother, cousins, and my richly melaninated grandmother and grandfather were born and lived. It is where my feet felt the heat from the red clay roads in the summer. It is where I met that emblem of morning freshness that had taken place throughout the night. The dew, the smell of a new day awakening to the smiling face of the sun."
Known for his expressive and vibrant interpretations of African American culture and life, Leroy Campbell is in a class by himself, as the creator of some of the most identifiable, soulful art of this decade.
His signature style is branded by richly melaninated, elongated figures with thin necks and fluid limbs that come alive alongside acrylics, fabric and colorful inks. All figures are without noses and eyes, they only have mouths. "This allows my clients to place the faces of those they know and love, touched and have laughed with in my art."
His works, all created with a mixed medium of acrylics, pastels, charcoal ink and fabrics on arches Coventry acid free rag paper, encompass a variety of moods and experiences. Most of these experiences were taken from Mr. Campbell’s past and re-created.
Simply put, Leroy Campbell is a quintessential renaissance artist. His six series are entitled: Neckbones, Black Eyed Peas, Sweet Potato Pie, Moonglow Jazz, Water Melanin and Professional Neckbones. Each depicts a specifically unique and touching experience of Leroy Campbell’s life.