April 11 - May 10, 2025
From ICOSA Collective:
“ICOSA Collective presents Lucitations, an exhibition from Shawn Camp and Vy Ngo exploring the connections between the creative process, the intersection of the organic and subconscious, and the various states of energy felt when we are present in our surroundings.
Lucitations is a meditative state achieved through the act of creation, where the painter and the canvas engage in intuitive dialogue. As artists, Camp and Ngo are conduits for decision-making, who allow their internal dialogue to guide them into creative flow. At the core of their process, prioritization on remaining fully present facilitates much deeper conversations between order and chaos, expansion and focus, trust and surrender.
Shawn Camp creates atmospheric passages through an ethereal color palette, first with structured boundaries, then by intuitively adding many layers of soft strokes. Each subsequent layer contributes to the formation of subtle shimmering, prism-like dimensions that invite us to question place and time in conversation with the art itself. Through translucence and refraction, these surfaces explore the mystery of light, matter, and space. Vy Ngo’s paintings are based on her physical and spiritual journeys into various geological terrains, reflecting on the energy around her and meditative states achieved by connecting with self in nature. Through the languages of color and movement, Vy attempts to hold onto the impermanent nature and dream-like states of memory.
Within Camp’s large-scale paintings exists a powerful flow between form and formlessness that creates fractal views of reality. Ngo’s vibrant abstract landscapes present dynamic perspectives that oscillate between organic vs organized and tangible vs transcendent. Lucitations creates an opportunity for you to contemplate and reflect on how you connect with yourself, your memories, your environment, and the broader human experience.
Shawn Camp (b.1971) grew up in Coeur dʼAlene, Idaho and completed an MFA in Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University. He then set out exploring, art-making, and exhibiting throughout the United States and abroad as an artist and musician. He settled in Austin, Texas where he is a member of the ICOSA artist collective and Professor of Painting at Austin Community College. His works have been shown in the United States and internationally and are included in numerous public and private collections. He has been awarded artist residencies in the United States and Iceland and his work has been reviewed in Glasstire, The Austin American Statesman and The Austin Chronicle. His large-scale works have been commissioned for the City of Houston, Texas A&M University, Raymond James and a host of other institutions. Shawn’s paintings, videos and sound pieces exploit the effects of context and light on our perception – contrasting the ephemeral nature of awareness with the illusion of constancy.
Vy Ngo (b.1975) is an Austin based visual artist, who draws influences from her life as a Vietnamese American, a physician, a mother, and an activist. Born to refugee parents in rural Pennsylvania, her passion for the arts was overshadowed by cultural expectations, an interest in the sciences, and the desire to serve others. After establishing a career in medicine, Vy finally came back to her creative self and began painting in 2015 which has since expanded to sculptural and site-specific installation work. Vy Ngo’s work has been exhibited in Texas and across the country from California to Tennessee. Her work has been acquired by private and public permanent collections, such as Austin City Hall and Texas A&M Multicultural Center, and has drawn attention from various publications and media, such as Glasstire, Tribeza, The Austin Chronicle, Austin Woman, and PBS Arts in Context. As a member of the ICOSA artist collective, she is an active contributor to the Austin art community and efforts to exhibit inclusive, diverse voices and stories. Whether it be representational work, abstract paintings, or large-scale installations, Vy Ngo creates work and spaces for dialogue and introspection about cultural identity, memories, the journey of healing, and the human experience.”
Reception: April 11, 2025 | 7–10 pm
Artist talk: April 17, 2025 | 6–8 pm
916 Springdale Rd, Bldg 2, #10
Austin, 78702 Texas
512-920-2062
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