Tripp’s work is a study in contrasts

     Senior Graphic Design major Michelle Tripp’s work, “Remembered Innocence,” is not just a painting. Reminiscent of the Japanese art form, origami, the work’s folded white paper forms floating against a white background are more like sculpture. The painting is part of Tripp’s senior exhibition now on display at Campbell University’s E.P. Sauls Gallery in the Rogers Fine Arts Center.
     “It’s all white, and it’s all folded paper,” said Tripp. “Visually, it’s not a painting, its installation, and it’s void of all color. I wanted it to be more about the light and darks that the white creates rather than about the colors I choose.”
     Tripp, who will graduate in December, admits that she did not set out to be a Graphic Design/Studio Art major when she transferred to Campbell from Western Carolina University.
     “I wanted to major in physical education” she said. “But soon after coming to Campbell, I changed my major to art education.”
     Tripp credits that fateful decision to a lifelong passion for painting and a good Fine Arts program. “The program at Campbell is really individually driven,” she said. “You get to pick out projects that you’d like to do. The teachers just guide you. You really learn from your own mistakes.”
     Tripp calls her work abstract impressionism. “It’s abstract in form,” she explains, “but representative of feelings and emotions.”
     The E.P. Sauls Gallery is open Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. Michelle Tripp may be contacted at mltripp@campbell.edu or (919) 417-2029.


Photo Copy: Student artist Michelle Tripp and her work “Remembered Innocence.”