Calendar of Events

Oak Ridge Art Center invites you to the 47th Annual Open Show, a juried mixed-media exhibition open to all artists which showcases exceptional work produced throughout our region. Open Show 2015 will be displayed September 12 through November 7.

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 12, 7:00-9:00PM. Gallery opens at 6:00PM for viewing with a gallery talk at 6:30.
Daily gallery hours: Tuesday through Friday 9:00AM-5:00PM, Saturday through Monday, 1:00-4:00PM.

201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge. 865 482 1441 or www.oakridgeartcenter.org for more information.

This exhibition will take the viewer through the evolution of Himalayan artistic styles from the 8th century through the present. From gilded statues of deities, to complex and colorful paintings of religious figures, the objects in the exhibit explore how trade, travel, and the evolution of Buddhism helped foster a strong artistic tradition that continues today.

Exploring the rich history of Himalayan style art in a chronological fashion, the Tibetan bronzes and paintings featured will progressively lead the viewer through the major stylistic developments that took place and provide an introduction to the techniques used to produce these works as well as to the complex religious iconography depicted in them.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-974-2144, http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu

Arrowmont invites the public to view Time, a collaborative exhibit by Blair Clemo and Jason Hackett, in the Geoffrey A. Gallery. The exhibit showcases an array of utilitarian and sculptural ceramic works measuring time through developed surfaces, symbolic image, and historic and geologic form. Clemo’s work explores time as a significant venture in labor while Hackett’s work is intuitively developed around the concept of time.

Blair Clemo is an Assistant Professor of Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his MFA in Ceramics at New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University in 2010. Originally from Doylestown Pennsylvania, Clemo spent many years out west studying ceramics and working at small production potteries in Idaho and Montana. He has been an Artist-in-Residence at The Northern Clay Center (Minneapolis, MN), the Da Wang Culture Highland (Shenzhen, China), the Zentrum für Keramik (Berlin, Germany) and The International Ceramics Studio (Kecskemét, Hungary) funded by the 2013 NCECA International Partnership Grant. Clemo’s utilitarian and installation work has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions nationally and abroad. For more information, visit his website at www.ablairclemo.com.

Jason Hackett is currently the Studio Manager for the Department of Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, the same place from which he received his Master’s degree in Fine Arts in 2005. Prior to obtaining his Master’s degree, Jason held studio management positions for Jun Kaneko and Pewabic Pottery’s Education Studios. His artworks have been exhibited nationally and internationally at the Alexandria Museum of Art, San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, The Mobile Museum of Art, The Virginia Museum of Fine Art, The Taubman Museum of Art, The City Museum of Aviero in Portugal, Galateea Gallery in Bucharest, and the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. Jason was awarded the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Professional Fellowship in 2013 for his collaged ceramic works.

Gallery hours are Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm and Saturday - Sunday 10am - 4pm. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Chicago-born Sandy Brown has degrees in art and education from Northeastern Illinois University, with post-graduate work in studio art and art history at Northern Illinois University. She was Executive Director of both the Monroe Arts Center in Monroe, Wisconsin, and the Monroe Area Council for the Arts in Madisonville, Tennessee. As a watercolorist and mixed media artist, Brown enjoys not only analyzing structure, but exploring atmospheric texture as well. Her painting style is spontaneous and changes as she works. She paints without reference to photos, preferring to be open to possibilities in the present moment. Among her strongest influences are the American Luminists, as well as Constable and Turner. Additionally she is drawn to van Gogh’s work for the passion of his brushwork and purity of color. Her focus is on painting change. Sandy’s emphasis on painting relationships, as opposed to “things,” drives both what she paints and how she paints it.

The exhibit opening reception is Friday, September 18, 2015 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. Brown will be on hand to informally discuss her work. The reception includes light refreshments and is free and open to the public. After the reception, Athens Community Theatre presents Steel Magnolias at 7:30 pm in the Sue E. Trotter Theatre. Tickets are $12 adult and $8 student. Athens Area Council for the Arts: 320 North White Street, Athens, TN, 37303. Hours: M-F 10-5. Info: 423-745-8781, www.athensartscouncil.org

Arrowmont invites the public to view Materialities: Contemporary Textile Arts, Surface Design Association's 1st International Juried Members’ Exhibition in the Sandra J. Blain Gallery. The exhibit showcases 67 artists, spanning a wide range of textile media, subject matter and presentations. Selected artists are from the US, Canada, Hungary, Iceland, France, Germany, Norway and the UK. A reception will be held Thursday, October 8th from 5-8pm. Admission is free and the community is encouraged to attend with their friends and family.

Materialities: Contemporary Textile Arts’ juror is Namita Gupta Wiggers, curator-at-large and Director of Critical Craft Forum. For a comprehensive print catalog, Wiggers selected 108 works from 91 artists that provide meaningful answers to the question: What do textiles/fibers and their associated processes offer artists that cannot be achieved in other media? The catalog includes full and detailed images, artist statements, and essays addressing the context and evolution of contemporary textile arts. Essay authors include curator Namita Gupta Wiggers, Arrowmont Program Director and fiber artist Nick DeFord, SDA Journal Editor Marci Rae McDade and indigo dye master Rowland Ricketts. Surface Design Association (SDA) is a non-profit textile arts organization founded in 1977. SDA promotes international awareness and appreciation of fiber, textiles & new materials. Members include artists, designers, educators, students, curators, gallery owners and textile enthusiasts from around the world. New members are invited to join at www.surfacedesign.org.

Gallery hours are Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm and Saturdays 10am - 4pm.
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

The Knoxville Museum of Art presents The Paternal Suit: Heirlooms from the F. Scott Hess Family Foundation. This unique and challenging exhibition questions where personal stories end and national history begins. Los Angeles artist F. Scott Hess explores this and other questions in this multimedia exploration of the artist’s paternal ancestry going back four centuries.

Meet the artist; cash bar - Thurs, Aug 20, 5:30-7:30 PM

The Paternal Suit consists of over 100 paintings, prints, and objects created by Hess, but presented as legitimate historical artifacts, and supported by photographs, documents, and historical ephemera. Each object and artwork bears an artist’s name and detailed provenance and has been executed in the style of the century from which it supposedly originates. Sculpture, ceramics, furniture, toys, newspaper clippings, historic photographs, guns, and costumes advance the story. Hess does not claim authorship for the works on display, instead, he ascribes to them fictional artists, referring to himself as the director of the “F. Scott Hess Family Foundation.” The exhibition follows Hess’s ancestral lineage from 17th-century England to South Carolina and Georgia, where family members became key players in the War Between the States (1860–65). Through the prism of his ancestry, Hess examines the impact of false history and deception within each generation and throughout society as a whole, and questions the authority of these perceived “truths.” The ultimate subtext for the installation, which traces the trajectory of the Iverson, Patton, Nolan, and Hess family lines, is the seven-year old artist’s abandonment by his own father after a parental divorce.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Where: Downtown Knoxville and McGhee Tyson Airport
When: April 4, 2014-March 20, 2015
How Much: Free

Art comes in all shapes and sizes. We invite you to experience some of the larger variety with Art in Public Places, an annual event featuring large-scale outdoor sculptures in Knoxville’s downtown public spaces and also at McGhee Tyson Airport. These larger scale pieces are thought provoking and awe-inspiring.

By displaying these works outdoors, we celebrate not only the art of sculpture but Knoxville’s natural beauty during this year-round outdoor exhibition.

The exhibition presently on view, an interesting and inspirational collection of works by sculptors from across the nation, was selected and awarded by noted sculptor Kenneth M. Thompson. Kenneth holds a Master of Liberal Studies in Sculpture from the University of Toledo and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Siena Heights College, in Adrian, MI. While many of his sculptures are in Ohio and Michigan, Thompson’s work can be seen in other states. He has done 41 pieces of public sculpture across the country. Ken has been making sculpture for over thirty years out of his car-dealership-turned-studio in Blissfield, Michigan. From this facility he operates Flatlanders Sculpture Supply and Art Galleries as well as Midwest Sculpture Initiative, which provides exhibitions that feature outdoor sculpture. Fourteen shows are planned for next year, he says. He also serves or has served on numerous arts-oriented boards.

The Art in Public Places Knoxville program, the 2015-2016 year being its 9th is a featured presentation of Dogwood Arts in partnership with the City of Knoxville Public Art Committee. The 2014-2015 Art in Public Places Knoxville Co-Chairs are Bart Watkins and Jason Brown.

To purchase a sculpture, please call [865] 637.4561.

Dogwood Arts: 865-637-4561 www.dogwoodarts.com

Ijams Hallway Gallery Presents: The Artwork of Broadway Studio and Gallery Artists

This month's Hallway Gallery shows off the amazing collaboration of the artists of Broadway Studio and Gallery. Bright, colorful, and diverse- you won't want to miss out on seeing the first group showing of these talented artists.

More events at http://ijams.org/events/. Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Grounds and trails open during daylight hours. Call for Visitor Center hours. Information: 865-577-4717, www.ijams.org

The Salvage Shop is a program of Knox Heritage, accepting donated historic building materials to prevent these valuable items from going to the landfill. These items are re-sold to benefit Knox Heritage. All donations are tax-deductible.

619 Broadway, Knoxville, TN 37917. Shop Hours: Wed-Fri 12-5pm, Sat 10am - 3pm. Information: 865-523-8008, www.knoxheritage.org

Ramsey House was built in 1797 by Knoxville’s first builder, Thomas Hope, for Francis Alexander Ramsey. The structure is significant for original interior and exterior architectural features and its period decorative art collection. The Ramsey Family was one of the first families to settle the Knoxville area. They played vital roles in developing civic, educational and cultural institutions. Colonel Francis A. Ramsey was one of the founding trustees of Blount College, now the University of Tennessee. One of his sons, Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey authored an early history of the state, The Annals of Tennessee. Another son, William B.A. Ramsey, was the first elected mayor of Knoxville.

Tours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10:00am to 4:00pm (last tour at 3:00pm)
Info: 865-546-0745, 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. www.ramseyhouse.org

The Mabry-Hazen House Museum, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located on six acres atop Mabry’s Hill in Knoxville,TN. Built in 1858 and housing three generations of the same family from 1858-1987, the Mabry-Hazen House served as headquarters for both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. This stately, elegant home of the Victorian and Civil War periods showcases one of the largest original family collection in America. Containing original artifacts including china, silver, crystal, and antique furnishings, this home is a rare view into the past. The Civil War, a gunfight on Gay Street in 1882, and a Breach of Promise lawsuit in the early 1930’s are only a few stories that bring life and color to those who visit the museum.

Tours: Monday-Friday: 11am – 5pm; Saturday: 10am – 3pm (or by appointment)
Info: 865-522-8661, 1711 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915. www.mabryhazen.com

Located on Bethel Avenue and down the road from the Mabry-Hazen House, the Bethel Cemetery contains more than 1,600 Confederate dead, including roughly one hundred who were killed in the battle of Fort Sanders. In addition, around 50 “Union Men” and 20 Civil War veterans are interred here. The monument to the Confederate dead was erected by the Ladies Memorial Association and was unveiled on May 19, 1892. The cemetery was cared for and maintained by the Winstead family from 1886-1989. The last family descendent and caretaker, Miss Mamie Winstead, willed the cemetery to the Hazen Historical Museum Foundation in 1989. Meeting her wishes, the Foundation recently opened a small museum which details the history of the cemetery as it pertains to the Civil War in Knoxville.

Tours: Saturday: 10am-3pm or by appointment
Info: 865-522-8661, 1917 Bethel Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915.

Marble Springs State Historic Site is the last remaining home of John Sevier. Born in Virginia in 1745, John Sevier made a name for himself as a Revolutionary War Hero during the Battle of Kings Mountain (1780), a key player & Governor of the short-lived State of Franklin (1784-1788), and ultimately was elected to serve as the first Governor of the State of Tennessee (1796). Marble Springs was the approximate 350 acre farm that Sevier lived on from 1801-1815, the last years of his life. Sevier named his farm Marble Springs because of the Tennessee Rose Marble that was quarried on site and the natural springs that flowed on the property. While visiting Marble Springs, you will have the opportunity to tour several historic structures that are designed to represent various aspects of John Sevier’s life & times. These structures include: The Tavern, The Loom House, The Smoke House, The Spring House & the John Sevier Cabin and detached kitchen.

Tours: Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday, 12:00pm to 5:00pm (or by appointment)
Info: 865-573-5508, 1220 West Gov. John Sevier Highway Knoxville, TN 37920. www.marblesprings.net