Thomas Campbell Brings Solo Art Exhibit To Northern California Surf Town

Originally posted on SURFER | By Jake Howard | Last updated Jan 15, 2025 7:16 PM ET

Tell somebody you were surfing in Pacifica and they'll probably ask, "Is that the beach with the Taco Bell on it?"

Yes, Pacifica is home to California's most famous Taco Bell location. Which is all well and good if you're Kai Lenny on a Maverick's mission, but there's much more to the salty surf town south of San Francisco. For starters, it's where eventual Pipe Master Michael Ho learned to surf. It's also where the author of this piece learned to surf. Sneaking longboards from the docks at Pedro Point, hanging at Sonlight Surf Shop, it was grommet's cold-water paradise in the '80s.

As core a surf town as you're going to find up or down California, this month esteemed artist and filmmaker Thomas Campbell is launching his instillation, "Shape Shifting and Other Astral Lint Balls," at the Sanchez Art Center. Billed as a "broad-ish survey of the makings of Thomas Campbell," the show will feature a variety of his works, ranging from paintings, to mixed media, to sculpture and sure so much more.

Campbell, who lives and surfs just down Highway One in the greater Santa Cruz zone, has been toiling away the last few months putting all the pieces together, and now it's ready. The opening night is coming up on Friday, January 17, from 7:00 to 9:00pm.

A busy bee recently, Campbell also just wrapped up launching a surfboard model with shaper Josh Hall, as well as finally put a bow on a 10-year film project called Yi-Wo , which features the stylings of Ryan Burch, Craig Anderson, Dave Rastovich, Joel Tudor, Bryce Young and more.

If you're in the Bay Area this Friday, drop in on Campbell and crew. It's sure to be a good time. The show runs through February 9, so if you can't make it no stress, the works will be on the wall for awhile.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: