Donald E Camp at List Gallery

The List Gallery at Swarthmore College presents Donald E Camp: “Faces”, a solo exhibition. On view through April 6, 2025, this exhibition highlights nearly four decades of Camp’s innovative photographic practice, which merges experimental printing processes with an exploration of identity, representation, and resilience.

Donald E Camp: A Life Dedicated to Visual Truth

Born in Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1940, Donald E Camp made his mark as a photojournalist before shifting to fine art in response to the negative portrayals of Black men in media. He left journalism to study at Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, where he earned his BFA in 1987 and MFA in 1989.

Camp’s Dust Shaped Hearts series, which he began in the early 1990s, includes portraits such as “Brother Who Taught Me to See – Mr. Herbert Camp” and “Man Who Prays – Mr. Moses Richardson” which concentrate on the importance of Black male representation. Camp expanded his lens to include women who have shaped his life, as seen in “Woman Who Sees Form and Color – Ms. Barbara Bullock” and “Woman Who Cooks – Chef Leah Chase”.

A Master of Experimental Photography

Donald E Camp’s technique is rooted in 19th-century printing methods in which he applies casein and earth pigments to his prints before brushing, scratching, and layering his compositions. The result is images in which antiquity and today, coexist.

The upcoming Donald E Camp: Faces exhibition is an invitation to reflect on the power of portraiture and its ability to challenge stereotypes while celebrating the strength and resilience of the individual.

Curated by Associate Curator Tess Wei, “Faces” combines the artist’s medium with larger photographs, mostly from his ongoing series, “Dust Shaped Hearts”. Known for his distinctive approach incorporating casein and earth pigments, Camp’s photographs are textured, layered, and presented as evocative visual declarations of honor individuality, and humanity. The exhibition also unveils new works that employ digital photographic negatives, as well as a number of his lesser-known non-figurative works.

An Artist’s Talk session is scheduled for March 20th at 4:30 pm at the Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema, followed by a reception at List Gallery from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Sunday, between 12:00 and 5:00 pm, with free admission.