By Carl Schafer, Co-Owner, Gordy Fine Art and Framing—
MUNCIE, IN—Kevin Campbell’s monumental and ever-evolving Puzzle Project is currently on view at Gordy Fine Art & Framing Company through March 28. The exhibition features several groupings from the large work, along with a composite image illustrating what the entire Puzzle Project would look like if fully assembled. The expansive composition now includes nearly 3,000 individual pieces and would measure approximately 44’ x 48’ if fully assembled.
Campbell began the Puzzle Project in 1994 with the intention of creating a single work of art that could grow indefinitely. By joining sheets of plywood edge-to-edge, he established a surface without a defined boundary. From this continuous field, he cuts interlocking puzzle shapes, which are painted individually and arranged into cohesive groupings.
Although the puzzle pieces are separated into groups and exhibited as independent works, each retains its conceptual place within the larger whole. The composite image on view at Gordy provides an opportunity to grasp the scale and structural logic of the project, revealing how each grouping fits into a broader, unified composition.
“Puzzle project composite image” by Kevin Campbell.
A graduate of the Ball State University School of Art, Campbell brings both formal training and professional illustration experience to the work. He spent many years as an illustrator during the early development of the nationally syndicated Garfield comic strip.
At its core, the Puzzle Project explores interconnectedness. Campbell has described each piece as “inherently part of something larger than itself,” reflecting patterns found in nature and human relationships. The puzzle operates as a metaphor: individual elements may appear separate or incomplete, yet they exist within a coherent and ordered system. While viewers may not always perceive the full structure, the larger composition suggests connection and resolution.
Over time, the Puzzle Project has taken on a collaborative dimension, with additional artists contributing to its expansion. As collectors acquire individual groupings, shared ownership becomes part of the artwork’s evolving structure.
On view through March 28, the exhibition at Gordy offers both an intimate encounter with selected segments and a compelling vision of the project’s full scale, a single artwork still growing more than three decades after its inception.
