Ian Campbell

I am a Western New York based artist practicing a range of traditional and experimental photographic techniques.

My artistic work builds on the tradition of Natural History. I use photography and other media to create a subjective, poetic record of my interactions with the Natural World. Often, I reference the work of early 19th century photographers, artists, and naturalists as a way of illuminating the present and imagining the future. Ecological melancholy is a recurring theme: my images simultaneously embrace hope and despair--the thrill of new discoveries and the trauma of environmental loss.

Before deciding to pursue Art as a vocation, I briefly considered a career in Biology, and I still frequently employ a quasi-scientific approach to art-making. I am captivated by the unknown, the unseen, and the unrepresentable, and I deliberately use the technical limitations of photography to evoke the limits of human knowledge and engage the viewer’s imagination.

MFA, Photography + Integrated Media, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 2015

BA, Major in Studio Art, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, 2007

Selected Exhibitions:

"Homeland: Photographs from the Anthropocene," four-person show curated by Gwen Walstrand, Brick City Gallery, Springfield, Missouri, 2024

"Art that Matters to the Planet: Interconnectivity," Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown, New York, 2023

KCSCP Current Works, juror Deanna Dikeman, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, 2021-2022

"After Birds", Batesville Area Art Council, Batesville, Arkansas, 2021 (solo)

Small Works on Paper, juror Judy Ledgerwood, Arkansas Arts Council, 2021

"Existence: Text and Image" (Alternatives Biennial Juried Exhibition), Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 2020-21

Majestic National 2020, juror Charlie Kanwischer, Majestic Galleries, Nelsonville, Ohio, 2020

BAAC National Juried Exhibition, juror Eric Freeman, Batesville Area Art Council, 2020

"Refugia," Arts and Science Center of Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 2019-20 (solo)

"Lensless," curated by Mitch Eckert, Hite Institute, University of Louisville, Kentucky, 2019

"Material Connections," Lyon College Art Faculty Exhibition, Batesville, Arkansas, 2019

60th Annual Delta...