Art Club of McKinney will go ‘No Limits’ in its Kettle Art Debut this Weekend

Deep Ellum’s Kettle Art Gallery sometimes feels like a lighthouse that beckons artists from all over the Dallas-Fort Worth community and beyond. Take, for instance, Saturday’s first showing with the long-running Art Club of McKinney. 

Club president Kathryn Ikle heard about Kettle Art since she moved to Texas in 2019 but didn’t get a chance to visit the place until a few months ago. 

“When I moved, I was looking for an art community, and it was right before COVID, and I had seen about the Kettle Art Gallery and never got a chance to visit because of COVID,” Ikle says. “After COVID, I got involved in the arts community, and I got busy doing a lot of things. I actually went downtown a couple of months ago and visited.” 

Frank Campagna, the founder of Kettle Art, says Ikle paid him, his wife, and the gallery’s marketing director Paula Harris, a visit. They hit it off, and just like that, Ikle found a new space to share her club’s prolific output of artwork. 

“[Harris] was looking for new artists,” Ikle says. “So we decided to collaborate together.” 

The meeting that took five years to happen led to the club’s “No Limits” showing. The club and gallery will hold an opening night reception from 4-7 p.m. during the Deep Ellum Wine Walk on Saturday.  

“She came in one day and took a look around and liked the gallery,” Campagna says. “We just happened to have an open spot. So we were like alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” 

The Art Club of McKinney will celebrate its 110th anniversary on November 10, making it the state’s oldest art club. They’ve gathered 50 works of art from 25 artists for its “No Limits” gallery.  

Just like the title implies, there are no limits on the types, styles, and even medium of the works in the McKinney art club’s collection

“I was looking for artwork that was a little more imaginative, if that makes sense, for the downtown audience,” Ikle says. “I was looking for different mediums, subject matter, and perspectives, and I also tried to put together artists with different personalities and from different backgrounds.” 

One of the most striking pieces in the “No Limits” isn’t a painting. It’s not even a sculpture or a photograph. It’s a dress—a wedding dress, to be precise. 

Multidisciplined Artist Celeste Seitz contributed to the Art Club of McKinney’s showing with a mixed media work called “Ain’t No Wifey.” It’s a wedding dress that looks like it has been gussied up with graffiti to look a little more punk, showing her love and natural talent for street and protest art to stir up some strong emotions.

“She makes a lot of different types of statements in her artwork,” Ikle says. 

Other works in Kettle Art’s new gallery include a print called “Koi Journey” by Ikle, a vibrant work of abstract color and form called “Looking Down from Above” by Jean Turner, and an abstract geometric work called “Renewed by Green” by Myryn Elizabeth Clark. 

The Art Club of McKinney may be the oldest art collective in the state, but these and other works clearly show just how active, vibrant, and inspired they continue to be. The group educates its community about the importance and influence of artistic expression. Still, Ikle says its goal is to also “promote and inspire younger generations” of new and exciting artists. 

“We’re truly focused on developing new artists and helping them develop personally and professionally,” Ikle says. 

Kettle Art is a natural fit for the Art Club of McKinney. Campagna and Harris have sought out works from new artists all over the world for its popular Deep Ellum gallery since the day it opened. Both still work to a shine a light on new talent and give it a jolt to the start of new and exciting careers. 

“They’re different than a lot of galleries,” Ikle says. “On their website, they actually say they are interested in supporting artists, and a lot of people say that, but when you walk in and talk to Paula and Frank, they tell you they are actually interested in partnering, collaborating, and supporting the arts just by the way they talk to you. They’re interested in the artists, and they’re interested in artists. They are open to ideas, where some galleries very much are not. Kettle is interested in trying different things and attracting a wide audience.”

Kettle Art Gallery is located in Deep Ellum at 2650-B Main Street. Go here for more details.