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Join us for an artist talk by Artist in Residence Katelyn Chapman. Chapman is in residence from March 24 – May 18, 2026. Talk will be held in the AIR loft, Suite 205 (upstairs) at 701 Whaley St., Columbia, SC.

Artist Statement
My work explores episodes of working-class life in America’s rural South through the lens of my own 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 span past, present, and future tenses; I primarily focus on the function of the 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 to 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 point to a past that can’t be thrown away, but instead lingers on into the present.

Biographical Statement
Katelyn Chapman (b. 1992, Columbia, SC) is an oil painter currently based in Charleston, South Carolina. Her work is inspired by her deeply rooted familial and rural ties to the South, has been exhibited nationally, and featured in international publications like Manifest Gallery’s INDA #12, Create! Magazine, and Women United Art Magazine. Chapman holds an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia (’18) and a BFA with an emphasis in Drawing from Clemson University (’14). She is a three-time Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grantee (‘19, ‘21, & ‘24) and has been awarded residency fellowships to attend Vermont Studio Center, The Hambidge Center, and Chateau Orquevaux in France. After five years of teaching in higher education, she made the transition to full-time artist at the end of 2023, but continues to lead occasional workshops in drawing, painting, and grant writing for artists. Her work is represented bySouthside Gallery in Oxford, Mississippi.