In the 1980s, the raw energy of Deep Ellum was undeniable. Driving down Main, Elm or Commerce, the mix of industrial warehouses and splashy murals clued even the most casual observer into the fact that this was the neighborhood for the creative class in Dallas.
Forty years on, the area has gone from dangerous to deserted to thriving, yet the spirit of those artistic pioneers lives on in a show that opened at the Kettle Art Gallery on June 6.
“The Deep Ellum OGs Return” features the work of eight artists who made their mark on the city with sculpture, portraiture and street art, including Clay Austin, Frank Campagna, Dwayne Carter, Greg Contestabile, Brad Ellis, Bill Haveron, Thor Johnson and Brad Smith. Also including tributes to the late Albert Sherbarth and Mosquito, aka Dave Hawley, the exhibit is many years in the making, yet perfectly timed.
“I’ve known [curator] Brad Smith since 1990, and he’s been wanting to get the gang back together,” says Campagna, who has run Kettle for over 20 years. “We had a meeting last December, but I was slammed last fall between Dua Lipa renting the gallery and our 20th anniversary, and unfortunately, Bert passed away, and that lit a fire … to get things going. It’s a group of friends who all worked together on the 1991 Club Clearview mural Evolution Moderne.”
Including roughly 36 works, the show is part of an artistic renaissance in a neighborhood that has been in a state of construction (and a state of flux) for the past several years. With newish spaces including Arc Gallery and Mesbelle Gallery popping up, the energy of a time when bands like the Butthole Surfers, the Dead Kennedys and Hüsker Dü would take over Campagna’s art studio after hours just might be back.
“Paul Slavens is going to play, and we’re talking to some of the New Bohemians about doing some impromptu shows,” says curator Smith. “All of us artists are going to start a blank canvas and create a bit mural, all of us just ad libbing as we go and getting back to where we started.”
“The Deep Ellum OGs Return” is at Kettle Art Gallery, 2650 Main Street, and continues through August 16 with a closing reception featuring Paul Slavens. Check for gallery hours on facebook.com/kettle.art. kettleart.com