Steven Campbell was born in Glasgow and originally worked as a maintenance engineer in a steelworks in Cambulsang before attending Glasgow School of Art in his thirties, becoming one of the leading Scottish figurative painters of his generation and part of the 'New Glasgow Boys'.
After graduating from Glasgow School of Art in 1982 Campbell won a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the Pratt Institute in the United States. Campbell worked from a studio in Brooklyn until 1986 and this period was key in establishing his status as an internationally renowned artist whilst raising awareness of Scottish contemporary art on a global scale.
His artwork is influenced by a diverse range of literary fiction from P.G. Wodehouse to murder mysteries, resulting in humorous and unsettling undertones. Campbell was also influenced by children’s book illustrations accounting for his use of a rich and vibrant palette which intensified after his U.S. period. His surreal compositions cannot be read as a conventional fictional narrative and his imaginary worlds intentionally challenge the viewer with their dreamlike quality leaving his artwork open to multiple interpretations. Campbell saw himself as a ‘director, writer and producer’ of these other-worldly scenes and he often repeated the figures in multiple artworks as if they were a cast of actors.
Campbell died an untimely early death at the age of 54 from a ruptured appendix.
"Scotland was looking for some sort of identity and Steven helped give that identity some visual expression. The public was ready for someone like Steven, it was the right thing at the right time. He's got his place art history and it's a deserved one." - Adrian Wisniewski