Stories Behind the Art: Learn more about Annie Decamp and Javier Badell in Anticipation of Their Opening Reception
Join us on Wednesday December 15 for a special collaborative exhibition showcasing Annie Decamp and Javier Badell's work. The artists collaborated on over twenty works to show at the Museum. A percentage of the sales will support the Colorado Snowsports Museum. This will be a fun après ski art show. As you are coming off the mountain or before you head into the village for the evening, come grab a drink and join in on the opening reception of this collection of bold mixed media art.
At the Colorado Snowsports Museum, our mission is to celebrate Colorado snow sports by telling stories that educate and inspire others to seek adventure. When speaking with Decamp and Badell about their art, our Curator, Dana Mathios, asked if they would be interested in sharing more about what inspires them as artists. In doing so, we learned more about the stories behind these works, and in turn, were inspired ourselves. In anticipation for their upcoming reception, we thought we would share more about the artists.
Annie Decamp began painting and exploring jewelry design in 2000. She ran a successful jewelry business for twelve years practicing lost wax casting before transitioning her love of working with wax as a medium to encaustic painting and eventually mixed media. Today, her figurative work explores people and cultures where she leans on her degree in history with a minor in Art History from U.C. Berkeley. Her work begins with research into late 19th and mid-20th century black and white photographs. She typically paints from those photographs using charcoal, oil, and encaustic, or alters the images digitally before painting onto them with the same materials. This process and mixture of mediums speak to the complexity of human nature and ontology, as well as the many layers of the human story that captivates her. In 2018 she began applying her process to vintage ski images and had her first solo show at the Colorado Snowsport Museum in the summer of 2020. Decamp teaches mixed media classes and curates shows throughout Colorado.
Decamp began skiing at age two in Colorado, initially on a pair of red plastic skis her father referred to as the “zippy skis.” At age five, her family moved to Northern California where they spent weekends at the Alpine Meadows ski resort in Tahoe where she joined the mountain’s alpine race team skiing slalom and GS. She returned to Colorado in 2013 and can be found on the mountains of Aspen when she is not in her studio.
Decamp now celebrates her love for skiing and winter sports through a body of work she refers to as her ‘ski series.’ For this series, she uses her digitally-based imagery with a vibrant palette and textures to portray the lively and joyful vibe snow sports illicit in mountain towns everywhere.
“She believes collaborating with Javier Badell adds an incredible dimension to this work by overlaying a lively palette that expresses a spectacular sense of movement via his airy and broad-brush strokes. ”
At the age of seven, Javier Badell began his art exploration at the Escuela de Arte Neptali Rincón, located in his hometown Maracaibo, Venezuela. This is where his love of bright colors, lines, and textures was born. His lessons consisted of depicting still life, local landscapes, and architecture, which were already filled with vibrant colors that echoed the culture he inherited. Moving forward, Badell would seek ways to incorporate these elements into every work of art.
Badell moved to the United States in 2000 and received his B.F.A. with a concentration in graphic design from Colorado State University. Much of Badell’s early work focused on commercial arts; however, in 2018 he reignited his passion for painting. Badell’s artistic influences include Carlos Cruz Diez, Jesús Soto, and Robert Motherwell.
Javier Badell’s work oscillates between randomness and control. By mixing different paint colors and pouring them onto the canvas, Badell gives way to liquid densities and gravity. He retakes control with meticulous color selection and controlled brush strokes to blend and stretch. He aims to create chromatic discoveries that stimulate the senses.
Badell’s use of bold colors was inherited from his equatorial hometown (Maracaibo, Venezuela) affectionately named "La Tierra del Sol Amada" (The Beloved Land of the Sun). There, light beams shine almost perpendicular, penetrating life in the most honest of colors.
“Action and inaction. Freedom and constraint.”
He seeks happy disasters created by pigment mixtures as well as intentional self-expression. Embracing uncertainty while intentionally pushing colors around. He balances a lack of control while remaining an agent of change, which he believes epitomizes the human condition.
Embracing the duality of accepting uncertainty and living a distinct and meaningful life is Badell’s artistic frontier.
“Activity and rest are two vital aspects of life. To find a balance in them is a skill in itself. Wisdom is knowing when to have rest, when to have activity, and how much of each to have. Finding them in each other - activity in rest and rest in activity - is the ultimate freedom.”
As far as how snow sports relate to Badell’s work, he moved to Colorado 21 years ago and has never left the state. The mountains provide countless opportunities to create the perfect work/life balance for him. Being able to get away and be in touch with nature allows him to have a more visceral and intentional process of art making. The dynamism of the act of snowboarding and the snow explosions for Badell are reflected in the gestural strokes and paint splatters in his art. Carving the snow with swooshes is a similar way that he uses the palette knife to spread paint on a wood surface.
The opening reception will be held at the Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail, Colorado on December 15, 2021. The event starts at 4:30pm and will end around 6:30pm. Beer and wine will be served. Come support two local artists while also supporting the CSM.
Sources:
Annie Decamp – Learn more HERE.
Javier Badell – Learn more HERE.