Austin-based Shawn Camp takes center stage beginning August 2
ROCKPORT, Texas (July 25, 2025) — “Between What I Fear and What I Hope,” showcasing the backlit mixed media paintings of artist Shawn Camp, will open August 2 in the H-E-B Gallery at Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA).
Camp’s work will be on view and available for collection Aug. 2–Sept. 28 with a public artist reception on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 5–7 p.m., to coincide with the monthly Austin Street Art Walk, a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring RCA and other galleries located in downtown Rockport. The show and reception are free and open to the public.
“’Between What I Fear and What I Hope’ will offer an array of ephemeral works that Shawn Camp is known for,” said Catey Arnold, Barrow Foundation Curator of Exhibitions. “His acrylic paintings depict clouds in the sky, but are fractally complex, revealing subtle geometric divisions. The backlit mixed-media works oscillate between moments of opacity and translucence. This body of work from the Austin-based artist is unlike anything visitors to our galleries have seen before.”
Through the nature of refractive pigments, glazed and sanded repeatedly atop the smooth, mirror-like panels, the experience of color and shape found in “Between What I Fear and What I Hope “ is elusive and indefinable.
“I make paintings, videos, light and sound pieces that explore the boundary between the physical and the transcendent,” said Camp. “My recent acrylic paintings suggest air and space; imagery devoid of solid forms. Through translucence and refraction, the shimmering surfaces convey a sense of atmosphere and explore the mystery of light, matter, and space.”
A native of Coeur dʼAlene, Idaho, Camp received a BS in Psychology and BFA in Studio Art from the University of Idaho and an MFA in Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University. He then set out exploring, artmaking, and exhibiting throughout the United States and abroad, both as an artist and musician, settling in Austin, Texas, where he is a member of the ICOSA Collective, an artist-run non-profit cooperative gallery space, and Professor of Painting at Austin Community College.
Camp’s work has been shown in the United States and internationally, featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including Clockwork Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, Holly Matter Modern Art and Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Los Angeles, with dozens of shows across Texas.
Camp’s pieces are included in numerous public and private collections, with large-scale works commissioned for the City of Houston, Texas A&M University, Raymond James and a host of other institutions. He has been awarded artist residencies in the U.S. and Iceland, and his work has been reviewed in Glasstire, The Austin American-Statesman and The Austin Chronicle.
For more information on “Between What I Fear and What I Hope,” visit rockportartcenter.com follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.
About Rockport Center for the Arts
The 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts, the Coastal Bend’s first multidisciplinary arts organization, is located a block away from Aransas Bay in the heart of the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Designed by the award-winning team at Richter Architects, the state-of-the-art campus features a two-story, 14,000-square-foot, visual arts and education building with four galleries and five classrooms (204 S. Austin St.); The Rockport Conference Center, a one-story, 8,000-square-foot conference and event center, known as The ROCC, (106 S. Austin St.); with a 16,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden serving as a visually inspiring transition space between the two buildings. The hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For information on event space or to book an event, call (361) 450-8033. For general information and to become a member, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.
About Austin Street Art Walk
Austin Street Art Walk is a collective effort of the Rockport Center for the Arts and Moon Over Water Gallery in partnership with Rockport galleries, restaurants, and businesses located along Austin Street in the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Scheduled the second Saturday of each month, April through December, from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Art Walk is a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring an ever-changing mix of participants and art mediums such as paintings, ceramics, jewelry, photography, textiles, as well as live music, artist demonstrations, food and more. Follow us on Facebook for more information.
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