Mark Nelson/ Making Faces
The Kettle Art Gallery with its eclectic, North Texas based, cultural programming has been a Deep Ellum staple for a long time — just like its owner-founder White Rock-area resident Frank Campagna.
A visit to Kettle Art or attendance at one of its upcoming events is a fantastic way to familiarize oneself with Dallas’ novel art scene, by way of Deep Ellum, East Dallas’ arts/music/culture mecca.
Campagna just filled us in on August-September happenings that mean the most to him.
Aug. 31
Richard Ross/The Drowned Giant
The Sleeping Under the Waters exhibit kicks off Thursday, August 31, 6-9 P.M. at an opening reception for artists Mark S. Nelson and Richard Ross.
“In the loss of the traditional Grand Narratives, Nelson and Ross explore new avenues in what it means to be a human in an ever changing world of material and media,” according to press material. “Sleeping Under the Waters refers to the perceived hibernation of rational thought and logic based on experience and experimentation.”
Campagna says this and other upcoming shows mean so much to him personally.
“Both Richard and Mark began exhibiting within months of Kettle’s very first opening in 2005,” the gallery owner says.
Texas native Mark Nelson has carved a niche in the art world with his acrylic paintings.
His art “invites viewers into a realm of vivid colors and mysterious dream worlds,” according to his statement. “His creations seek to grapple with the timeless questions that have haunted human existence. Mortality, the enigma of life beyond the temporal, and the ethereal nature of being all find their place in his artwork.”
His paintings resonate with those who seek meaning beyond the surface, inviting us to join him on a journey through the corridors of the mind and the heart.”
Ross, also a Texas artist (Irving), began forming his artistic voice in the atmosphere of the early Dallas hardcore punk scene.
According to his artist statement, during this time, “he found glimpses of beauty in the chaos of specific moments, and the courage to question the grand narratives that had formed his life’s early foundations.”
Sept. 16
Author Tim Cloward
Mark your calendars for a special night September 16, at writer Tim Cloward‘s book release party.
Cloward’s The City That Killed the President: A Cultural History of Dallas and the Assassination, published by Deep Vellum Press, “is a creative cultural history of Dallas through the lens of its defining 20th century event: JFK’s assassination.”
The event begins at 6 p.m. and features an author talk and discussion.
In the half century since the President’s murder, Dallas artists and writers have produced important works that “speak to the difficult burden of our civic shaming,” according to press materials.
The City That Killed the President examines “poetry, theater, journalism, art, the actions of our citizens and political leaders, all the fragments of our cultural life that address this often-tortured local history. This fitful discourse is a window into Dallas itself, a city reluctant to grapple with its past.”
Campagna says he’s known Tim Cloward even longer than the previously mentioned artists.
“He is someone I placed as an opening act for the likes of Henry Rollins and later John Cale as a spoken word artist in 1986 or so,” Campagna says.
Sept. 21
Wine Walk Team includes Jane Watkins, Jenn LaFleur, Katrina Rassmussen, Erin Curry, Katrina Parsey (below) Emily Hawkins and Julia DeLeon. Photo by Paula Harris
Finally on the near-future calendar is the monthly Deep Ellum Wine Walk’s ninth anniversary, celebrated Sept. 21 from 6-9.
Paula Harris, also of the Kettle Art Gallery and champion of women-owned businesses in Deep Ellum, started the walking tours as a way to increase visibility for the merchants of a district mostly known for live music, dining and night life, Campagna says. He adds that, with the exception of several months during the pandemic shutdown, the event never quit.
“When summer temperature were easily over 100 degrees, or nights were threatened by tornado warnings or torrential downpours, and even the most frozen nights when only the most dedicated followers came out, Paula always made sure it ran smooth and efficiently,” Campagna says.
The walk started with about four stops and now includes a dozen to 15.
One of the major attractions to this event, aside from the shopping, wine and camaraderie, might be the souvenir glasses that are designed by neighborhood-famous artists, Campagna says.
Richard Ross, Janae Corado, Corey Godfrey, Erin Curry, Mark S. Nelson, Jamie Walters, Justin Clumpner and Frank Campagna himself are among the artists who have lent their skills. The glass itself, says Campagna, “is a sturdy, eight-ounce vessel that can accommodate your morning orange juice, late night cookies and milk, or simply a few cubes of ice and a bit of bourbon.”
