Chris Clamp

I was raised in a small town in South Carolina named Leesville, which has now been changed to Batesburg-Leesville.  The town was primarily built on agriculture and textiles, however, only one mill still continues to function.  My family are farmers and also worked in these textile mills, so I learned the value of hard work and community early in life.  My grandparents helped raise my brother and me due to the long hours and strange shifts my parents had to work to make ends meet.  I enjoyed helping my grandfather work in the gardens and fields, listening to all of the stories he had to share about nature, people and morals.  He was the kind of person who often spoke in parables, as if there was an underlying lesson to learn through his story.  He also collected a variety of odd items, from old tools and containers to old toys.  As a child, I would play with these objects, and in many ways, they began to take on different meanings.  Many times, the objects would personify people I knew, or would like to know, and even represented elements of my grandfather's legacy. 

In this recent body of work, I am continuing to explore the power of the commonplace object and the drama created by its juxtaposition to other relating objects.  Some paintings are simple and playful, while other paintings have many layers to inspect and explore.  The meanings are intended to be personal to each viewer, but through careful inspection, the audience may notice elements of narrative.  The paintings may serve as a catalyst for nostalgia, re-connecting the viewer to a memory or to a place long forgotten.  I want the paintings to engage the audience in conversation and question the audience to look deeper into themselves and their personal experiences; from where they started, to where they are now.