Sabine Campana featured in three Thornwood summer art shows
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German-born artist Sabine Campana will present her distinctive mixed-media wall reliefs in three consecutive shows at Thornwood Gallery in Santa Fe this summer.
The gallery鈥檚 first summer exhibition, 鈥淧ortals and Pathways,鈥� opened on Friday, June 13, and runs through the end of the month. Campana said the theme is well suited to her work, which has become increasingly focused on portals.
鈥淚 had this (motif) in my last show a lot,鈥� Campana said, referring to her April solo exhibition, 鈥淧ortals to the World,鈥� at Thornwood鈥檚 Houston location. 鈥淚t was about portals and gates from my travels, where I saw a lot of monumental gates, (including) massive doors to temples or churches or mosques.鈥�
In that show, Campana exhibited her semi-abstract wall reliefs alongside reference images from around the world. But the relationship between her artistic interpretations and the real-world references is usually more oblique and poetic than literal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really never my approach to create a copy,鈥� she said.
For instance, a piece she made about the Alhambra palace in Grenada, Spain, used high-gloss resin to recreate 鈥渢he intensity of the sun,鈥� she said, and the feeling of 鈥渂eing surrounded by an ocean of gold.鈥�
Among the new works Campana created for 鈥淧ortals and Pathways鈥� is 鈥淧ortal to Sunken Cities,鈥� a piece about the mysterious pre-Columbian archaeological known to lie buried beneath the Gulf of Mexico, but whose details have long eluded researchers.
Campana lives in Houston, 50 miles from the gulf, and used turquoise colors in that work as a double reference to the turquoise waters of the Gulf Coast and the importance of turquoise gemstones in Mesoamerican cultures. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a portal to an ancient world,鈥� she said, 鈥渁 gateway to sunken cities.鈥�
The gallery鈥檚 second show of the summer is a more expansive one. 鈥淪ummer Group Show 2025,鈥� which includes a larger selection of gallery artists, opens on July 11 and runs through the end of July. The third summer show, 鈥淗igh Desert Oasis,鈥� opens on Aug. 8 and runs through the end of that month. Campana will present different pieces each month, and she plans to attend each opening.
鈥淚 have been with the gallery for 26 years,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey are out of Houston, and this is where I started with them 鈥� and now in Santa Fe. The gallery has a wonderful program.鈥�
Campana grew up in East Berlin during the time of the Berlin Wall. She said she received 鈥渁 great art education鈥� in East Germany but had limited access to resources.
鈥淭oday I feel like that was an advantage,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou are forced to be creative, to create something from nothing.鈥�
Campana continues to use nontraditional materials in her work, including scrap materials.
鈥淚鈥檓 very resourceful,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 seeing things which I would not throw away. I see some potential in it, and I have 鈥� mostly right away 鈥� some idea of what I could do with it. And if not, I have a gigantic inventory of collected materials. It鈥檚 all labeled and boxed up, because there will be a day when I will use (each material) in some kind of art piece.鈥�
Sabine Campana featured in three Thornwood summer art shows
