Meg Kettelkamp's latest exhibition is evoking Savannah's 'Ghosts' and the liminal space we miss

The house at 601 E. 33rd Street isn’t haunted, but on June 3, it’ll be full of "Ghosts."

Meg Kettelkamp’s spectrally-named exhibition, featuring a collection of her recent paintings, a video piece, and a few surprises, should feel right at home in what is being called The Nest Gallery.

“[The House] has the character of Savannah, making it the ideal space for my fibers that are naturally dyed from plant material blown across the streets of Savannah,” she said. “My work completely changes wherever I install it, so the work will be responding to the space in a unique way.”

Although Kettelkamp is a painter by training, much of her art utilizes materials and display techniques not often associated with your typical oils or acrylics on canvas. While she uses both mediums in her work, she’s often also adding in things like concrete, wire, or even dirt. And it’s not uncommon for her to have her paintings positioned in space in such a way that viewers are able to see the rear of the work, stretcher bars and all.

“I am interested in the space between contradictions and opposites: Between work and play; architecture and nature; happiness and suffering; you and I,” she explained. “In the West, we’re taught a more dualistic worldview where it is one or the other, not so much both or neither. I think this mindset leads us to desire the ‘good’ and resist the ‘bad.’

“In some works, the stretcher bar is what divides two sides and light can shine through the lighter fabric as the canvases become more sculptural and three dimensional. I am using light and shadow to show that one cannot be without the other, and it is beautiful that they can coexist.”

On the artist's website at megkettelkamp.com, there are videos depicting her process, which often involves her going out into one of our city's many parks to gather materials or make work, and her pieces often display that connection to Savannah's natural environment.  Moving them into a freshly painted gallery space, however, offers the opportunity for her to explore the ideas that drive her in new and interesting ways.

“The installation Ghosts loses some of the beauty given by the sunlight,” said Kettelkamp, referencing the specific piece after which the exhibition is named.

"But I am interested in the contrast between free forms blowing in the wind and the eerie stagnancy they take on in a gallery space. They hold the memory of that place.

“The video piece shows this memory,” she continued, noting that it depicts the fabrics of the aforementioned artwork hanging from tree branches, with folks young and old interacting with it in a natural environment. “Like an old home video, there’s an instant feeling of nostalgia as these fabrics that were played with in the video have changed for the gallery space and are separated from their environment.”

While the exhibition is rooted in some deep concepts, the artist insists that it’s meant to be accessible and even playful. At the same time as Kettelkamp is incorporating her own ideas into each piece, she’s also fully open to viewers making their own judgments as to what the works mean for themselves, to find their own ghosts within, so to speak.

“A lot of my paintings fit within a traditional two-dimensional ‘high art’ context,” she admitted. “They’re layered, complex, and oftentimes feel heavy rather than childlike and carefree.

“However, I am pushing the boundaries of the canvas in my work, challenging the history of painting and modernism in how they are installed. My work balances control and chaos, as I’m processing the complexities of life and the illusion that happier times are in the past. Abstract and gestural paintings of unrecognizable forms invite curiosity and the simplicity of looking into the details of the work, as a child would see in a rock.”

The opening reception for Meg Kettelkamp’s "Ghosts" at 601 E. 33rd Street will take place Friday, June 3, from 5-9 p.m. The exhibition will also be available to view Sunday, June 5 and Monday, June 6 from 1-5 p.m.