Exhibition highlights works of original Deep Ellum artists

By Shari Goldstein Stern

While Deep Ellum has undergone sweeping transitions throughout the decades, there are certain elements that have withstood the test of time. The area is forever eclectic: Colorful, vintage, sometimes raucous, artsy and unexpected. One of the neighborhood’s standout businesses demonstrating all those attributes is Kettle Art Gallery, whose founder, owner and curator, Frank Campagna, is revered by many as the “Godfather of Deep Ellum Art.”

The Gallery, which Campagna opened in 2005, is currently celebrating the “Old Guard” (OG) with its exhibition, “OG’s Return to Deep Ellum” through August 16 at the gallery, 2650-B Main Street. The exhibition highlights the work of the original artists who made up the OG.

According to Campagna, “My life is art.” When asked about his career decisions, Campagna said he enjoyed painting since he was kid but, as of high school, he knew he didn’t want a job. “Oh, I had a few jobs back in the day,” he clarified. “While studying painting at East Texas State University, I got in trouble for selling my homework. That was a real lightbulb moment,” the artist quipped.

The former New Yorker liked what he experienced when he visited Dallas the first time. “I loved Deep Ellum from the start, with its urban, light industrial feel, and so, in 1974, I moved here to begin my next adventure.” Campagna and his family reside in the White Rock Lake community of Little Forest Hills.

The OG exhibition features sculpture, portraiture and street art by artists including Clay Austin, Frank Campagna, Dwayne Carter, Greg Contestabile, Brad Ellis, Bill Haveron, Thor Johnson and Brad Smith. Also included are tributes to the late Dave Hawley and Albert Sherbarth. 

Cathryn Colcer, archive coordinator of the Deep Ellum Foundation, said, “The OG event is exactly the kind of art show that helps people realize the decades of meaningful art and artists that have passed through the neighborhood and made meaningful works of art, inspired by and supported by the places and people who were there.”

Susan Carson is a Kettle Gallery assistant who has worked there for two years, after spending 37 years in another gallery. The “Hobby Painter,” as she calls herself, said: “Whether a local artist is known or not, Frank is always willing to give them his time to mentor and support them with their work and career. I really respect that selflessness about him.”

Another upcoming summer event, on Saturday, July 11, is a discussion at Stephanie Khattak’s K. Co Press Reading Lounge, where “For the Love” author, Jason Hensel and Campagna will lead a discussion as part of the July 10-12 Deep Vellum Music & Literary Festival. “For the Love” is a narrative history of local art, culture and the Kettle Art Gallery’s artist community. The book features 20 first-person artists’ reflections, along with stories, oral histories, photographs, memorabilia, artist profiles and selected artworks. The book reveals the gallery’s first 20 years: its curatorial choices, community advocacy and the artists it has championed. Essays from writers, civic leaders and longtime friends complete the story.

The entrepreneur’s wife, Paula Harris Campagna, represents “Discover Deep Ellum” and plans its monthly wine walk on the third Saturday of every month. The next walk is coming up on July 18.

Back at the Kettle, Campagna will host a Luau party on Saturday, July 18 at 4 p.m. and then on Saturday, August 15, the Kettle will be the venue of a Sangria Soiree at 4 p.m. 

Kettle Gallery was named one of Today’s 10 Best Art Galleries in Dallas by USA Today. The gallery was named Dallas A-List’s Best Art Gallery. Kettle was also honored as Dallas Observer’s 2018 Best Art Gallery in Dallas.

Campagna has painted more than a thousand murals throughout his career, transforming public spaces into accessible street galleries. Some of his most recognized, local, historical work includes murals on the walls of the Gypsy Tea Room, the Agora, the Kempinski Hotels and at many Café Brazils. The muralist painted hundreds of backdrops for incoming acts like Willie Nelson and Ice Cube. 

He pioneered early neighborhood public art initiatives like the iconic “Tunnelvisions” project in the early 1990s, spearheading the effort to “decorate” the Good Latimer tunnels by mobilizing a network of artists to paint murals there. This collaborative effort transformed the underpass into an iconic “Deep Ellum Tunnel,” famous for its vibrant community-painted murals and graffiti.

Why “Kettle?” When Campagna and co-founder Kirk Hopper were remodeling the original gallery space at 2714 Elm St., they discovered a turn-of-the-century artifact on an original brick wall. “Kettle Rendered Lard” is what the signage advertised for purchase at the earlier “Kettle Dry Goods Store.” The name stuck and remained when the Gallery changed location in 2013. 

Kettle Art Gallery is located at 2650-B Main St in Deep Ellum. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and by appointment. The “OG’s Return to Deep Ellum” exhibition runs through August 16.