Immersed in art from a young age, Orlando Campbell was raised in Chelsea, London, having lived with and been influenced by the work of artists Frank Stella, Patrick Caulfield, Kenneth Noland and Eduardo Paolozzi. These artists’ use of colour and symmetry has influenced his work.
Campbell’s parents often took him to exhibitions; amongst these, he witnessed a performance by Gilbert and George that his fascination with the art world. At art school, Campbell studied Technical Drawing and recognised his affinity with geometry and colour.
In 1993, Campbell opened Green Street, an iconic private members club in Mayfair and after, he ran The Globe, which became a club institution in West London. Both venues were legendary for the art, fashion and culture tribes who congregated.
In 2000 Campbell opened a boutique art hotel, The Westbourne, on the edge of Notting Hill, where he was responsible for filling every room with art collected primarily from his friends, who were later associated with the label YBA’s (Young British Artists). One could see work by Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas, Daniel Chadwick, Keith Coventry and Patrick Caulfield, amongst others.
In 2001, Campbell moved to the countryside and started work as a full-time artist. His paintings accentuate pure form, colour, and spatial harmony. Applied with flat, vibrant hues, the artist eschews expressive flourishes in favour of delineated patterns and geometry. Intrigued by the mechanics of engineering, science, and technology, Campbell investigates the possibilities of his art with the juxtaposition of colour, diagrams, molecules, atoms and strands of DNA. These latest works became known at the Curly Wurly's and Venns, and he also created his sculpture series of Pills.