Field Collections in the Oil Painting Village of Dafen (Shenzhen, China)

Lao Wai (Undocumented Relationship)

Along with American artists  Karl Hofmann  and Danny Crump, Campagna made several field-collection trips to Dafen, an oil painting village on the outskirts of Shenzhen, China. DaFen is famous for its hundreds of galleries and thousands of Chinese artists who produce oil on canvas paintings, many in the western tradition-- from Pollocks and Klimts to Dutch still lifes, among many others. The majority of the artworks in Dafen are set in picture frames, also produced in the village. Laborers in the frame workshops toss remnants and damaged pieces into the streets at the end of each day. Campagna, Crump and Hofmann collected the cast-off materials during their visits to the village. Later, in their studios at the DaWang Culture Highland, each artist took the material in his own direction. Their works were part of the exhibition, Uncommon Connections: Danny Crump, Terrence Campagna, Karl Hofmann July 23- August 23, 2011 // Da Wang Culture Highland, Luohu District, Shenzhen, China.