Artist: Philip Leonard Ocampo
Exhibition title: Gallivanter
Venue: Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto, Canada
Date: January 28 – February 25, 2023
Photography: Laura Findlay and Em Moor, all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Zalucky Contemporary
The works in Gallivanter embody a temperament of mischief in the pursuit of thrills, leisure and excitement. Since the act of ‘gallivanting’ mostly occurs under the cloak of darkness, night is the chosen ‘mise en scène’ for Ocampo’s curious tableaus. With nighttime activities (dancing, joyrides and secret rendezvous) setting the stage for mythological creatures to move about in the darkness, Ocampo composes scenes that are twinged with danger and reckless behaviour. In works like Nosferatu Beach Party, a shadowy figure ascends a staircase to resume, perhaps, a moonlight tryst or a game of chess: the ominous implications abound. Through a graphic, pictorial approach to painting that borrows from the whimsical visual logic of boardgames, the works in Gallivanter draw parallels between play, anxiety and adrenaline.
Philip Leonard Ocampo (b.1995) is an artist and arts facilitator based in Tkaronto, Canada. Ocampo’s multidisciplinary practice involves painting, sculpture, writing and curatorial projects. Exploring worldbuilding, radical hope and speculative futures, Ocampo’s work embodies a curious cross between magic wonder and the nostalgic imaginary. Recent exhibitions include Coldest Winter / Sweetest Spring at Arsenal Contemporary, Toronto (2022), Seethe Hiss Rumble at the plumb, Toronto (2022), Couverture / Cover Story at Pop Montreal, Montreal (2021) and Lose Your Illusion at Ignite Gallery, Toronto (2021). He holds a BFA in Integrated Media (DPXA) from OCAD University (2018) and is one of the four founding co-directors of Hearth, an artist-run collective based in Toronto.
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Gallivanter, 2023, exhibition view, Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Gallivanter, 2023, exhibition view, Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Gallivanter, 2023, exhibition view, Zalucky Contemporary, Toronto
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Rings on my fingers, blood on my knuckles, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, 14 x 11 inches; The villainy you teach me, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, 14 x 11 inches
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Lesson & Lessen, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, dimensions variable; Squeal, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, dimensions variable
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Green Banshee, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, 14 x 11 inches
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Hands are full, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, 12 x 12 inches
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Nosferatu Beach Party, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, 11 x 14 inches
Philip Leonard Ocampo, These Stadium Lights, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, 14 x 11 inches
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Omega Omega Omega, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, dimensions variable
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Squeal, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, dimensions variable
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Thrive, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, dimensions variable
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Nitrous, 2023, Acryla gouache on panel, 11 x 14 inches
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Rings on my fingers, blood on my knuckles, 2022, Acryla gouache on panel, 14 x 11 inches
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Eight Eyes / Tunnel Vision, 2023, Acryla gouache on panel, 24 x 24 inches
Philip Leonard Ocampo, Two-wheel Drive, 2023, Acryla gouache on panel, 24 x 18 inches each, 3 x 4 inches
