Calendar of Events

At the O'Brien Art Gallery. For specific dates and updates to exhibits: 865-882-4649, wilkersonbs@roanestate.edu, or www.roanestate.edu/art/gallery.

Reception February 26, 6:30-8:30 PM
213 Hotel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityart.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

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 Town of Farragut Arts Council announces Hugh Bailey as featured artist for February and March. The exhibit features a variety of woodcut prints that are both whimsical and charming. Hugh Bailey is a native of Virginia. He earned his BA in art from Berea College and a MFA from Indiana University. Mr. Bailey was employed with the University of Tennessee for 41 years as a graphic designer. He is currently a member of the Southern Highland Handcraft Guild, Foothills Craft Guild and the Knoxville Watercolor Society. Each month the work of an artist or group of artists is featured in specially designed cases on the second floor of the rotunda in the Farragut Town Hall. For more information about this exhibit or to access a Featured Artist of the Month application, please contact Anne LaGrow at anne.lagrow@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057 or visit www.townoffarragut.org/artscouncil. The Farragut Town Hall is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive directly across from the Farragut Branch Post Office.

China is viewed by most in the Western world as a homogeneous country with a single culture. Its land mass is similar to that of the United States, but it is inhabited by 1.3 billion people, making it the most populous country in the world. This population is composed of more than 56 official ethnic groups, each with its own customs, traditions, language, foods, and in some cases, religious beliefs.

In the many centuries of China’s history, numerous ethnic groups have ruled, and each has made contributions to the art and culture of what we have come to view today as “Chinese.” In this exhibition, the museum presents a brief glimpse into China’s history, with 80 examples of art from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 A.D.) and several contemporary works. Panels introducing each of the dynasties provide historical, geographical, and economic background.

1327 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Mon - Sat: 9:00A to 5:00P, Sun: 1:00P to 5:00P. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Lessons begin at 7:00 followed by dancing at 8:00. Mondays at Church Street United Methodist Church (900 Henley St); Wednesdays at the Laurel Theater (16th Street and Laurel Avenue). All lessons and dances are FREE. No partner required.
Information: www.swingknoxville.org

Mondays at 8:00 PM. Contra dancing to live acoustic music. No experience or partner required. $7. At the Laurel Theatre in Knoxville, 16th Street and Laurel Avenue. Information: 386-6627, www.discoveret.org/kcd

A new show performed by an award winning troupe new to the Smoky Mountain Palace. The cast offers the traditional Chinese cultural acrobatics but in a very fast paced, and at times breath taking, manner. The costumes are absolutely gorgeous; the music selected not only is appropriate for the acts but actually enhances them, and the skill of the acrobats is extraordinary. There are traditional acts such as the Chinese Yo-yo, and these ladies not only show off their skills but their stunning costumes as well. The men hoop divers take it to the extreme by diving through hoops that are in motion. A simple schoolyard seesaw, or springboard, is the vehicle that catapults a young lady from the board to the shoulders of another acrobat three people high in the air. A new act that is rarely performed outside of China is the Face Off or Mask Changing. It is a form of Chinese expressionist theater that is documented to be at least 300 years old and is impossible for the audience to explain after seeing it. The face mask on the beautiful young lady changes from one mask to another, without being touched, in the blink of an eye. To the absolute joy of everyone who has seen them, The Jungjo Drums all girl ensemble is back after spending last year preparing for, and participating in, the Beijing Summer Olympics. After two extremely successful seasons of Chinese acrobats, the third version has been highly anticipated and has proven to be exciting and entertaining beyond expectations. It again reinforces the opinion that the Smoky Mountain Palace’s Cirque de Chine is the best theatrical production west of New York and east of Las Vegas.

Cirque de Chine, 179 Collier Dr, Sevierville, TN 37862. For information: 865-429-1601, www.smokymountainpalace.com