Dirty plains

A show of new work by the
American artist Clay Ketter opened in London
this week at Bartha Contemporary. Ketter,
who has lived in Sweden for over 20 years,
is renowned for creating art works through
the investigation of construction techniques.

His work on the surface has a beautifully
minimalist aesthetic, but the real interest
lies beneath the layers in a "truth to materials"
approach and the perfection of the process.

Previous works of furniture installation and
framed plaster work recall fêted American

Abstract Expressionists such as
Donald Judd and Mark Rothko.
Gulf Coast Slabs embraces the
medium of large scale photography to continue the construction theme.
After Hurricane Katrina Ketter decided to return to his native land to see
the damage done for himself.
He was accompanied by photographer Nils
Bergendal and together they found whole
neighborhoods where only the foundations of
buildings remained. Like ghosts of the
recent past, the slabs revealed the outlines
of what were once happy homes.




Using a crane to elevate themselves directly above the site Ketter and Bergendal recorded
what look like illustrated architectural floor plans, colored in with the texture and colors of vinyl floors and
bathroom tiles. The odd bits of strewn beams and pieces of plaster board fallen at an awkward angles
break the grid-like pattern. If studied closely random domestic objects such as plates, toilet bowls and cracked glass
table tops can be seen. All around the edges of these strangely clean swept slabs vines and grasses are
growing wild, showing nature returning to reclaim these man-made remains.

Ketter, who worked as a builder and carpenter for many years,
was deeply moved by the destruction of these homes.
He described the experience of making this work as
"emotionally grueling" and in the catalog produced by
Bartha Contemporary he writes, "This book, and the body
of work represented here, is dedicated to the people of the
Gulf Coast of Mississippi, in particular of Gulfport, Long Beach,
Pass Christian and Waveland. We are forever grateful to these
people, some of whom we have had the pleasure of meeting.
Their former homes are the subject matter of this project...
We were as cautious as possible in our project, imagining,
without truly knowing, the weight of this catastrophe and the
scars it must have left behind...To receive such warmth
and hospitality from these people, who had been dealt
such a cruel hand, was both moving and inspirational."