Calendar of Events

Bliss Home is kicking 2011 off with a First Friday artist that is not one to be missed! Melissa Johnson has created truly unique and playful pieces of art that are not only beautiful, but also make a bold statement. The materials she uses range from actual vintage newspapers and magazines to vintage children's encyclopedias and fabric. The pieces capture Johnson’s personal experiences by involving culture and religion, love and relationships, body image, and American social codes and roles both from the 1960's and current. Her work will be on display at the 29 Market Square location through February!

29 market square. Addn info: anne@shopinbliss.com; 865.673.6711

Sevier County artists, aged 18 and older, were invited to submit artworks for consideration and 100 works created by 54 artists were selected for exhibition in the school’s main gallery. An opening reception and presentation of awards will be held Friday, January 28th from 6-8 pm in the Main Gallery. The event is open to the public and free to attend. Martha Connell curated the exhibition and sifted through more than two hundred works in order to select the art featured in the exhibition. Connell is from Atlanta and serves as a curator for a number of museum exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe. The exhibition features a diverse array of media including painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, furniture, woodturning, ceramics, fibers, basketry and jewelry. Arrowmont’s galleries are free and open to the public.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. For information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

URBhana welcomes 2011 with new artwork by local painter, Ashley Addair. You can preview her work on her website: http://noroomforhipsters.wordpress.com/photo-gallery-ashleys-work/

Ashley's vibrant and beautiful original paintings will be on display at URBhana all month, and available for purchase. Levon Walker will be entertaining our ears Friday evening with what he describes as: "Levon's attempt to describe a good lesson learned, in a multi-instrument, homemade oddity of sound contemplating country roots with funky keyboards, and sampled Harlem street sounds under slide guitars."

Join us - admission is free.

URBhana, 115 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. For information: 865-951-5454, www.urbhana.com

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition of works by four Taiwanese photographers entitled “Taiwan Sublime”, opening Friday, January 7, at 5:00 PM in the Balcony of the Emporium Center. “Taiwan Sublime” comprises four series of photographs taken by Taiwanese photographers who for many years have crisscrossed Taiwan and its smaller sister islands with the aim of creating a record of its natural and human wonders. “Taiwan Sublime” will be displayed in the Balcony at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, January 8, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543 or visit www.knoxalliance.com.

Art Market Gallery is pleased to spotlight the work of two of its member artists: jewelry by Jennifer Lindsay and kiln-formed glass by Paula Marksbury. Ms. Lindsay creates unique handmade jewelry using Swarovski crystals, imported seed beads and other elements. Ms. Marksbury, whose fused glass designs are often bold in color, shape, texture and design, will be exhibiting multi-dimensional one-of-a kind sculptures for the wall. A First Friday Reception for the Featured Artists is planned for January 7th from 5:30-9 pm.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11AM-6PM; Sunday 1-5PM. For information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net

Artist Reception is Saturday, January 8th from 6-9pm
Refreshments Provided

Red Line Gallery, 11519 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37934. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11AM-6PM. For information: 865-288-0277, www.redlinegallery.net

Mooreland Heights Elementary School, Value Plus Program

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Friday, 10AM-8PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: 865-934-2036, www.knoxart.org

The exhibition includes more than 40 works Bates produced in response to Hurricane Katrina and the devastation it brought to the Gulf Coast. His iconic images capture in dramatic fashion destroyed property and displaced people, as well as the emotional devastation in the wake of this event. Many of the paintings are monumental in scale, including The Storm, a triptych that measures 21 feet in width. In this series, Bates’ paintings affirm both horror and life and serve as powerful reminders of the ability of art to represent the spectrum of human experience.

Bates, a well-known Texas artist who has long chronicled the people and places along the Gulf Coast, is based in Dallas. His work has been presented around the country in solo exhibitions at major galleries and in numerous important group shows.

The Knoxville Museum of Art is the only venue in the eastern United States hosting this exhibition, which is organized by the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri.

A members-only preview party is scheduled for Thursday, October 28 from 5:30 – 7:30pm and will include a gallery talk by the artist.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM; Friday, 10AM-8PM; Sunday, 1-5PM. For information: 865-934-2036, www.knoxart.org