ABOUT THE WORK

Upon critical viewing, it is clear that Manuel Ocampo’s works seemingly allude to what the acclaimed and influential intellectual and philosopher Axel Honneth calls the Struggle of Recognition. Though jarring and sometimes chaotic, Ocampo’s pieces go beyond the aesthetic compartmentalization of the artworld. Instead, it embraces the often overlooked and unorthodox complexities of contemporary life as art in itself. His works welcome these seemingly antagonistic milieus by giving them equal and important footing and recognition within the spaces of his canvas. Ocampo does not discriminate between his motifs as he attempts to accurately depict both the hegemonic and underrepresented cultures and subcultures of the time. All are equal within the eyes of Ocampo, whether they be the inherent sanctity of the divine or the justified profanity of the downtrodden.