Katelyn Chapman
Katelyn Chapman received an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia in 2018 and a BFA with an emphasis in Drawing from Clemson University in 2014. Her work is inspired by her deeply rooted familial and rural ties to the American South. She has exhibited both nationally and locally and has been featured in international publications like Manifest Gallery’s INDA #12 and, most recently, Issue IV of Women United Art Magazine. Chapman is a two-time Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grantee (’19 & ’21), a finalist for the 2023 Women United Art Prize, and has been awarded residency fellowships at Vermont Studio Center, The Hambidge Center, and Château Orquevaux in France. Most recently, she attended artist residencies at Farwell House and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts. She regularly exhibits her work at Southside Gallery in Oxford, MS. After five years of teaching in higher education—first as an Adjunct Professor of Art and later as a full-time Professor of Art—she transitioned to a full-time artist at the end of 2023. Chapman currently lives in Charleston, SC, and teaches drawing and painting workshops at Redux Contemporary Art Center.
Artist Statement
My work explores episodes of working-class life in America’s rural South through the lens of my family and friends in the Midlands of South Carolina. I index my upbringing in this place by referencing backroad dispositions in conjunction with symbols of faith and Christian iconography. By painting these accounts, I celebrate, honor, and show reverence towards the customs and traditions of the rural working-class South.
Relying on rich history, storytelling, and the ephemeral quality of change that spans past, present, and future tenses, I primarily focus on the function of still life in rural spaces—both wild and domestic—as practical makeshifts and collections. The work often toys with paradox and humor to buttress these themes through depictions of off-the-grid habits as they relate solely to living off the land. These ideas are crucial in building messages that point dually towards the literal and figurative challenges and undertakings in the Bible Belt region. In the American South, this notion provides perspective on larger societal issues that reflect a past that can’t be thrown away, but instead lingers into the present.
www.katelynschapman.com
How has the environment you grew up in affected your art practice?
The rural working-class environment where I was raised, in the Midlands of South Carolina, is the impetus behind my artwork and practice alike. Nearly all the subject matter for my paintings comes from the couple-mile radius of the home I was raised in, on land that five generations of my family have lived and worked on. The strong work ethic, grit, and values inherent to rural blue-collar life show up innately in my drive and passion for creating with my hands and my need to make work that is labor-intensive. While I am not a farmer or carpenter in a literal sense, nor do I work on machines regularly, figuratively speaking, I do plant seeds, water ideas, build projects, and problem-solve my way through telling the visual stories of the working-class region that made me into the artist and person that I am today.
If your artwork was a mirror, what would it reflect?
My paintings are an honest and multifaceted reflection of America’s rural working-class South. They mirror its contradictory and paradoxical nature by holding two truths at the same time. One may be poor materially but rich spiritually. A beautiful exterior may hold an ugly secret at its core. Life doesn’t have to be pretty to be wonderful. The fact is, we exist in complex and liminal spaces no matter what region we’re from.
What is the most difficult part (or your least favorite part) of your process?
The hardest part of being an artist and maintaining a commitment to my practice is fighting the resistance and the creative blocks that try to get in the way of making work. The inspiration or motivation isn’t always there, but I show up regardless. No one else can tell my stories but me, the artist. There are many days when I just suck it up and get to work… usually, after a half hour or so of working, those resistance demons are exorcised, and I’m able to find a good flow state.
Pursuing ‘artist’ as a career is not for the faint of heart. What is the most rewarding aspect of this pursuit?
Being able to tell stories and record moments in time that would otherwise go unnoticed, forgotten, or lost to passing generations is very rewarding. Art allows you to express yourself more freely and create work today that will become pieces of history tomorrow. You add substance to the world with each piece you make and leave your mark in the process.
If your art is in a lineage of artists working within similar veins, who would be part of your lineage and why?
Some of the most prominent artists in my lineage are Sally Mann, Catherine Murphy, and Jenny Saville. I include Mann in the lineup because she’s such a great storyteller. Visually and verbally, I find her work on the Deep South particularly captivating and relatable. Murphy is a close looker—that fact is abundantly clear in her painting style and laborious no-shortcut process. I find inspiration in the ways she celebrates the everyday and how her compositions are unique, unexpected, and challenge art historical boundaries. Lastly, I place Saville in my lineage for her tenacity in taking on larger-than-life paintings. She captures light in a manner I would liken to Rembrandt, while also merging figuration and abstraction seamlessly. She often makes beautiful references to her own art heroes as well. While I could discuss how some of the Old Masters and artists from days gone by have influenced my work, it’s much easier to name three living, working female artists because I can see myself reflected in that image much more concretely.
