A couple of days ago I stumbled upon an art exhibit in Charleston that was just so imaginative, inspiring, and playful that I had to share it with you. The only problem is that in a few days it will be gone.

You have only four more days to see the remarkable exhibit Aggie Zed – Keeper’s Keep at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. But this is an exhibit that’s worth a special trip and if you happen to be in Charleston right now, Zed’s work is not to be missed.

The title of the show takes is a play on British museums’ use of the word “keeper” for “curator.” The “keeper’s keep” here are the wonderfully absurdist paintings in which human foibles collide with the animal kingdom and Zed’s sculptural tableaux depicting a miniature world of mechanized horses, flying elephants, and sad-faced human beings.

Zed’s paintings are bright and whimsical but also convey a sense of decay, the paint sometimes dripping down the canvas. In some ways the paintings reminded me of Toulouse-Lautrec’s depictions of the dancers in Paris’ seedy Montparnasse; despite the vivid colors and cheerful animals there is something sad, lonely and disjointed about the world of Zed’s paintings.

Her sculptures similarly combine the playfulness of miniatures with a sense of desperation and loss. Though at first glance these installations look as if a child has been playing with her toys, when you look closer you see images like a horse being trapped under collapsed scaffolding and fallen angels struggling to take flight.

Keeper’s Keep runs now through March 10. Admission is free. For more information, click here.