Calendar of Events

The last Wednesday of each month. Tennessee Shines with The Bottlerockets, Ruthie Foster, Sarah Siskind, and the Carpetbag Theatre performing selections from "Between a Ballad and a Blues." Hosted by Jim Lauderdale and Dave Nichols and the Red Kap House Band. On the U.S. Cellular Stage at the Bijou Theatre. Tickets are $15 advance, available at the Tennessee Theatre box office, the online gift shop at TennesseeTheatre.com and on Fridays at The Square Room during the WDVX Blue Plate Special. Any remaining tickets will be sold for $20 on the day of the show. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the live broadcast begins promptly at 7. Information: 865-522-0832, www.knoxbijou.com

RACHEL CLARK, BRIENA HARMENING, and JESSICA KREUTTER. Reception on March 5, 5:00-9:00 PM.

RACHEL CLARK: I consider the contemporary artist a deejay, mixing eclectic signs of culture and art. Using this analogy, I’ve created a painting index of one hundred paintings using personal and cultural icons to construct a range of associations within a grid installation. Rachel Clark received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2004. That same year she was an artist-in-residence at the Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan. In 2009, Clark curated a group of forty-two art students and professional artists to form the exhibition “Seven Times Standard”. Clark is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and lives between Knoxville, TN, and Athens, OH.

BRIENA HARMENING: The alter ego has been used by many performance artists to explore alternate personalities or to investigate identities other than themselves. Two years ago I created an alter ego, “Ilene”, as a way to explore autobiography through storytelling. Ilene’s character is a combination of my southern heritage, the southern stereotype, and myself. The stories, not always flattering, are nonfiction and comment on the diverse personalities of family members, relationships, class, and the belief systems within family units. Briena Harmening is an autobiographical, narrative artist that works in multi-media. She received her BA from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida, and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Recently, her work has been exhibited in Video Artists Explore Southern Identity, at the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum of Art in Nashville, Tennessee, and the 2nd Annual Narrative Shorts International Film Festival at California State University, Chico, California.

JESSICA KREUTTER: I am interested in the discarded object that retains a trace of time. These objects hover on the rim of what is acceptable and what is not, of life and death, of remembering and forgetting. They connote a time of transition, an intermediate time where another realm is absorbing the previous. It is also a place of fantasy and imagined time, where the histories buried in the object are invented and the future is anticipated, yet unknown. In this atmosphere, I want to imagine what forms materialize from the shadows left behind. Jessica Kreutter graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a degree in Anthropology and Sociology, and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Before enrolling in her graduate studies, Jessica worked as a ceramic sculpture artist and art teacher in Portland, Oregon. Her work can be found at Guardino Gallery, Mary Lou Zeek Gallery, and Beet Gallery. This year, she will take part in a group exhibition at the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia, as well as Clay? III , a show that investigates the increasingly important role of ceramics in contemporary art. Last year, Jessica was a visiting artist for the ceramics department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as working as the summer ceramic studio assistant at The Mendocino Art Center


Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday & Thursday: 10AM-8PM; Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 10AM-5PM; and Sunday: 1-4PM. For information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

Each year the Sevier County Arts Council organizes the exhibit to showcase the talent of students from all grades, including those who are home schooled. All media is represented in this year’s show, including drawing, painting, sculpture, photography and glass. This year’s entries were juried by Karen Green, the Gallery Coordinator at Arrowmont. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. For information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Reception Feb 19, 5:30-8:30 PM with refreshments; music by Troy Rodgers; live dance led by Jodie Brown. Gallery sale Feb 19, 22-26.

International House of Prayer - Knoxville, 1802 Airbase Road, Louisville, TN 37777. Information: 865-984-0302, www.knoxhop.org

Opening night, February 19

1714 Andy Holt Avenue on the UT Campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.org

Based on the novel by J. R. R. Tolkein. Performances: February 12 through 27, 2010. Located at 800 Tyson Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-599-5284, www.childrenstheatreknoxville.com, info@childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

It’s a rusty old machine gun, with tattered strap and battle-scarred wooden stock—not even very large by today’s standards. By itself, it’s not that impressive. But mention the name Sgt. Alvin C. York, and this war relic takes on special meaning. It represents “the flag on the hill,” a brave deed by a backwoods soldier who remained cool under fire, silencing machine gun nests that were raining a firestorm of bullets on Allied troops. York was the leader of seven men who captured 132 German machine gunners on October 8, 1918, in the Battle of the Argonne Forest in northern France. For this heroic deed, York received the National Medal of Honor and became the most decorated soldier of World War I. This M1908/15 Maxim light machine gun is documented as one of the German weapons confiscated on that day. This historic artifact will become the centerpiece of an already extensive exhibit at the Museum, revealing the man behind the medals—a simple and honest East Tennessee backwoodsman who used his fame to help others. A special exhibit at the Museum will include items on loan from the York family.

Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy., Clinton, TN 37716. Hours: February: 10 AM to 4 PM weekdays, 10 AM to 5 PM weekends; March: 10 AM to 5 PM weekdays, 10 AM to 6 PM weekends.Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

Open house and reception with the artist on February 5 from 6-8 PM. If you’ve visited the Performing Arts Studio lately, you’ve no doubt been drawn into “The Mind Mapping Project”, Zach’s exhibition of vibrant, intriguing mixed media paintings. We hope you’ll join us for a night of art appreciation! Knoxville Arts and Fine Crafts Center, 1127 Broadway Suite B, Knoxville, TN 37917. For information: 865-523-1401, www.cityofknoxville.org/recreation/arts

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition titled "Headlights and Streetlights", featuring recent works by Mike C. Berry and Bobbie Crews. Crews's classic automobile paintings explore the relationships between "man and machine", combining realism and abstraction in a way that melds the familiar with the unexpected; Berry's series of new pieces explore visual moods of the city and urban areas of modern life. "Headlights and Streetlights" will be displayed in The Balcony at the Emporium Center from February 5-26, 2010. An opening reception with live music by the Old City Buskers (www.oldcitybuskers.com) will take place as part of First Friday activities on February 5 from 5:00-9:00 PM.

Mike C. Berry earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has exhibited in group shows throughout Tennessee and Georgia during the last ten years. Working primarily in pastel and oil, Berry creates colorful and vibrant cityscapes and landscapes, often bending and twisting the perspective in his compositions. Berry's work is also used in Pilot Food Mart billboards across Knoxville and surrounding areas. The Dogwood Arts Festival awarded Berry's painting "Spring in the City" the 2007 Limited Edition Print, which sold out in a record-breaking 21 days. Currently, one of Berry's works is the cover art for Jack Neely's new book "Knoxville, This Obscure and Prismatic City". Also, his work appears on his blog "Postcards from Knoxville" (http://mikecberry.blogspot.com), which features new small paintings of Knoxville each day. Berry was voted the Best Visual Artist of East Tennessee by The Knoxville News Sentinel 2009 Readers Poll. He is the Gallery Manager for the University of Tennessee's Downtown Gallery in Knoxville and is an active member of the Arts & Culture Alliance. His work is on display at his studio located in the Emporium Center (Suite 111) and is open to the public every First Friday from 5:00-9:00 PM. For more information on Mike C. Berry, visit www.mikecberry.com.

Bobbie Crews is originally from Northwest Ohio but has called Knoxville home since 1990. Creating art all of her life, she took a break from painting to raise three boys and then started painting professionally in 1993. Although Crews was already painting for her livelihood, she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art from the University of Tennessee, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2007. She is known for her work in murals, portraits, and design, and her work is included in private and corporate collections nationally and in Bermuda and Africa. Locally, Crews's work can be seen in the Howard Baker Federal Courthouse, the Knoxville Family Justice Center, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, the downtown Lyric Theatre in Loudon, Aubrey's Restaurants, and numerous other locations. Crews also teaches workshops, gives private instruction, does speaking engagements for and about art, and works as a courtroom sketch artist. She is an activist for women in the form of artwork for education and awareness of domestic violence. She has had solo shows in the town of Farragut, the Knoxville Family Justice Center, and the Howard Baker Federal Building. She is a member of the American Portrait Society and A1LabArts, an associate member of the American Watercolor Society and the Tennessee Watercolor Society, and she was inducted as a lifetime member of the Tennessee Artists Association. She is married to Clay Thurston, an accomplished nature and wildlife photographer, and they make their home in Fountain City. Her working studio is also in the Emporium Center (Suite 107). For more information on Bobbie Crews, visit www.bobbiecrews.com.

"Headlights and Streetlights" will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, February 6, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its first “New to Knoxville” exhibition featuring eight artists who are new to the Greater Knoxville area. The selected art includes watercolor, photography, sculpture, oil and acrylic paintings, mosaics, drawing, and mixed media and will be exhibited at the Emporium Center from February 5-26, 2010. A public reception will take place on Friday, February 5, from 5:00-9:00 PM as part of First Friday activities downtown and features live music by the Old City Buskers - www.oldcitybuskers.com.

The following artists will be featured:
+ Stephen Brayfield of Knoxville; watercolor - www.brayart.com
+ Bill Cook, Jr. of Knoxville; sculpture - www.billcookjr.com
+ Connie Gaertner of Knoxville; oil on canvas
+ Michael Hyneman of Knoxville; digital photography - www.michaelhyneman.com
+ Patsy Rodriguez of Sevierville; ceramic mosaics
+ Mary Ruden of Seymour; photography and drawing - http://picasaweb.google.com/knoxalliance/MaryRuden
+ Diana Scott-Auger of Greenback; acrylic paintings - http://www.artmarketgallery.net/members/scott-auger.html
+ Erika Smith of Knoxville; mixed media - www.facebook.com/pages/Erika-Smith-Fine-Art/139200442279

"New to Knoxville" is on display February 5-26, 2010 at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, February 6, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM. For information: 865-523-7543, www.knoxalliance.com.

Paintings, watercolors, prints and drawings by Bruce D. Busey will be on exhibit at Regas Restaurant during the month of February. The exhibit is a part of Knoxville's First Friday ArtWalk. Also on exhibit will be acrylic paintings by Asheville artist, Sharon Trammel, Professor of Fine Art at Asheville Buncombe Community College. Works inspired by performers, personalities and events of Asheville, North Carolina. Website: www.sharontrammel.com. For more information contact: B. D. Busey, 865-379-8263 or 865-548-4253.

Regas Restaurant, 318 N. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37917. For information: 865-522-6055, www.thechophouse.com

Wed, February 3 - Julia Bryan-Wilson
Wed, February 17 - Philis Alvic
Thurs, February 25 - Jennifer Sorkin
Wed, March 10 - Nick DeFord
Wed, March 17 - Laura Liu
Thurs, March 25 - Christy Matson

KMA Hours: Tues-Thurs 10-5; Fri 10-8; Sat 10-5; Sun 1-5. 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37916. 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org, info@knoxart.org