Camilla Fallon: The Navel is the Center
EXHIBITION DATES: April 29 – May 24, 2025
RECEPTION: Thursday, May 1, 5 – 8 pm
Closing RECEPTION: Saturday, May 24, 4 – 6 pm
The Painting Center is pleased to present The Navel Is The Center, a solo exhibition of paintings by artist Camilla Fallon in the Project Room. The exhibition opens on Tuesday, April 29, and runs through May 24, 2025. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, May 1 from 5 to 8 pm.
Camilla Fallon’s paintings masterfully explore the delicate interplay between light, form, and the female body. Through thoughtful close cropping and intentional scale shifts, she creates intriguing, unpredictable spaces that invite contemplation. Her work plays with obscured identity, using tightly cropped body fragments and broken shadows to allow light to conceal and reveal the human form. These luminous patches serve a dual purpose – they illuminate while simultaneously obscuring, creating a captivating push-pull effect.
In her most recent series, Fallon focuses on the navel as both subject and symbol. Pretty Navel places this unassuming feature at the exact center of the composition, demanding attention. As the series progresses, the navel undergoes a striking transformation – evolving from a simple bodily marker to a powerful metaphor. In works like Wound, Navel, and Bloat, it becomes a gaping wound, reflecting deeply personal experiences of aging, surgical scars, infections, and physical discomfort. What begins as neutral anatomy transforms into a poignant emblem of human vulnerability.
“I deliberately obscure my identity and maintain anonymity because these paintings are so revealing,” Fallon explains. “That very exposure leaves me feeling vulnerable.” This artistic approach has deep roots in her practice. A decade ago, she painted her full body while hiding her face or showing only the back of her head which was a clear nod to Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus with its mirrored reflection. Those earlier works radiated confidence, portraying her middle-aged body in bold, energetic poses like handstands, celebrating its strength and flexibility.
Today, Fallon takes this concealment further, either omitting faces entirely or obscuring them behind dazzling light. Bodies appear in fragments, often patterned with light streaming through Venetian blinds – these alternating bands of light and shadow hide and accentuate the body’s curves. The resulting paintings provoke thoughtful questions about identity, exploring the complex relationship between self-perception and the viewer’s gaze. They examine how light, space, and perspective all contribute to our understanding of what has come to be known as “the female gaze.”
Born in Baltimore, Camilla Fallon attended the Maryland Institute College of Art and holds an M.F.A. from Yale University School of Art, having also attended the prestigious Skowhegan School. Her recent exhibitions include the 2024 group show “Being Human” at The Painting Center, a solo exhibition at the Gilbert Gallery at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, CT, and a group show at the Hill-Stead Museum. 2023 saw her work featured at The Five Points Gallery in Torrington, CT, Drawing Rooms in Jersey City, and a solo show at La Guardia College in Long Island City. Fallon’s paintings grace numerous private and corporate collections, including those of Yale University and Capital Crossing. Her distinguished career includes residencies and fellowships at Yaddo, MacDowell, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and The Vermont Studio Center. She lives and works in Sharon, Ct.
For more information on the artist, visit: www.camillafallon.com and @fallon_camilla.
