Calendar of Events

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26, 6-8 P.M. RECEPTION WITH THE ARTIST—MARK HALL–AND A REPRESENTATIVE OF HAVEN HOUSE—DR. FRANCES HENDERSON

Artist Statement: Several years ago a female student was absent for just over a week. I heard nothing. This was unusual for her and when she returned I asked if she was ok. When she hesitated, I assured her I was not trying to pry but was concerned. She pulled back her upper blouse exposing a large bruise on her shoulder. She then stated, “My boyfriend at home beat me up.” After a brief talk where she assured me her father was dealing with this matter and my comments that the male should be her ex-boy friend, I began thinking about the issue of the abuse of women by men. This student was intelligent, attractive (she looked like the 19th century Gibson girl), and kind. What would motivate a male to abuse such a person? I began looking at late 19th century Victorian and Art Nouveau images of women and the Valentines that were created using many of these stereotypes.

I began working on a series of Domestic Abuse Valentines based upon these late 19th century images adapting the symbolism and wording. I created 10 wood engravings that depict these female stereotypes with the marks of abuse and the words of the abuser. The series of prints begins depicting a woman with a black eye and the words, “You Know I Love You?” The art nouveau pattern creates a bull’s eye on her body. Each subsequent image after the first depicts a woman with additional wounds and the escalating words of control by the abuser. The series ends with the last Valentine depicting a battered woman taken from the internet with the words “I’m Going To Kill You!” Labels for the exhibition give statistical information about abuse of women in the United States.

I would like to thank Dr. Frances Henderson, Associate Professor of Sociology at Maryville College for her assistance creating the labels for this exhibition.

At Blackberry Farm Gallery, Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

Artist Reception, February 26 6pm to 8pm

The Exhibit “Bricklayer to Jeweler” by Artist Tony Henson will include abstract works by the artist. Henson live in Kingsport, TN and teaches at Walters State and VA Highlands Community College. His work has been exhibited in galleries across the south.

Artist statement – “Start like a bricklayer end like a jeweler.” – Walter Sickert

Passage is the act or process of moving through, under, over, or past something on the way from one place to another. Transition of that something is as important as the transition of color within my work. Transition from childhood to adulthood, becoming a Christian, in music it’s a segment of a composition, in nature an opening, etc. Passage has as many variations such as time, journey, death, rite of passage, passage from the Bible, a path or channel, doorway, etc. Color, music, and nature have always been the three main influences in my paintings. My love for color is the main reason I paint. I believe all art should have restrictions. Within those restrictions, you have the ability to be creative in a series and in the individual paintings. I set up strict guidelines before beginning a painting. Transition of color, contrast in color and texture, large areas of color, gradation, drawing aspect with lines, layers that create depth, movement, application of paint, starting out in a very spontaneous manner, and so on. My personal motto and a quote I have on my studio wall from Walter Sickert “start like a bricklayer and end like a jeweler” sums up my process. The organic natural expression in my art reinforces my love for music and nature. Fluid lines referring to the rivers and trails of East Tennessee against larger areas of color referring to the landscape and the sky provide a necessary contrast in each painting. Thick, intense, or dark colors indicate the landscape while the soft transitions of colors refer to the sky. The gradation of colors which is more geometric than most of the painting refers to the sunrise and sunset. The contrast between these formal concerns is crucial in my work. I am creating an experience for the viewer to be immersed in the color, expression, and texture. Painting is a celebration of seeing.

DENSO Gallery, Clayton Center for the Arts: 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

The Knoxville Museum of Art is proud to present the first-ever exhibition dedicated to the history and legacy of the groundbreaking artists who worked and exhibited together in the fifties and sixties and eventually became known as The Knoxville 7. The KMA-organized exhibition features more than 60 works culled from the museum’s extensive holdings, augmented by loans from collectors around the region.

The brash, ambitious artists who exhibited together as The Knoxville 7 shared the common visual language of Abstract Expressionism, producing what are likely the first abstract art works in East Tennessee and establishing a foothold for modern art in the region. In the early 1950s, C. Kermit “Buck” Ewing, first head of the University of Tennessee’s art department, recruited a group of young artists—initially Carl Sublett, Walter Stevens, Robert Birdwell—who exhibited actively in Knoxville and throughout the Southeast. While Sublett and Stevens shared an exclusive interest in the landscape as a point of reference for their abstractions, Birdwell and Ewing often found inspiration in urban settings and the human figure. Sometimes they exhibited as a foursome and other times as The Knoxville 7 with fellow artists Joanna Higgs Ross, Richard Clarke, and Philip Nichols. This important exhibition brings into focus a richly productive period in the art history of the region and also attests to the depth of the museum’s growing holdings of works by Knoxville 7 artists.

The opening for the exhibition is Thursday, January 28, 2016 from 6 to 8pm with a short program at 6:45pm.

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

Maya: Lords of Time explores the time-ordered universe through the Maya’s intricate calendar systems and investigates how their history and culture followed a rhythm set by the motion of heavenly bodies. Learn the story of how divine kings used their control over the calendar and its grand public rituals to assert their power.

With award-winning interactives, numerous full-sized monumental replicas, and many Central American artifacts, visitors can trace the rise and fall of the Maya kingdoms and follow how ideas of time and the calendar changed before and after the Spanish conquest.

This exhibition also explores how those long-standing beliefs can still be found in Mayan regions today.

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

These works radiate warmth by their energy and vivid color. One thing that is noteworthy about the show is the lack of conventional landscapes, still lifes and florals. Most of the pieces are about people. They range from polished, formal oil portraits of comfortable well-to-do subjects by John Simms to spare sketchy oil pastel drawings by Gwen Johnson of people in African settings.

The Oak Ridge Art Center is open to the public seven days a week. Admission is free, but donations are very welcome.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

Beginning Jan. 18, the Farragut Museum will feature a new special exhibit - "The Farragut Farmers." This exhibit will be on display through May 27, 2016.

As late as the early seventies, the Farragut area was a sprawling rural community dotted with beautiful farmlands. This exhibit will feature artifacts related to farming in the area, photographs of barns and landmarks, and information about the Farragut Schools and their agricultural background. Specific artifacts on display include a barn door from the former Spencer Smith Farm off Smith Road (current site of Smithfield subdivision), a corn sheller with a large rotary handle, and a milk crate from the former Russell Dairy.

The Farragut Museum is committed to preserving the heritage of its East Tennessee community and features a remarkable collection of artifacts from the area, including an extensive collection of the personal belongings of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, first Admiral of the U.S Navy and hero of the Civil War. Housed in the Farragut Town Hall located at 11408 Municipal Center Drive, the museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and offers free admission. For more information, visit www.townoffarragut.org/museum, like Farragut Museum on Facebook, or contact Museum Coordinator Julia Barham at jbarham@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057.

Mixed media in the voices of Fictional Characters Anna Grace Tollett and Pearlie Bean, by Ghost Artist - Anne Powers, author of "Smoke from Small Fires".

Anne Powers is a multimedia artist who resides on the Rockwood side of Watt's Bar Lake . In past adventures she was the head of Roane State's Computer Art and Design program and the RSCC Art Department, the recipient of national awards in watercolor and digital media, taught digital media for five summers at Stanford University, and authored a book on 3D animation which is used worldwide. Examples of her work in traditional and digital media can be seen on her website at www.ANNIEMEDIA.com.

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is exhibiting interactive art in Touch, Arrowmont’s biannual National Juried Exhibition, on view in the Sandra J. Blain Gallery.

The opening reception scheduled for Friday, January 22, has been cancelled due the forecast of inclement weather. Community Classes will run as scheduled, however, Saturday Children's Classes are cancelled.

The first rule of museum etiquette is: Do Not Touch The Art! The artists showcased in Touch push the boundaries of a distance-based artistic environment. Touch acknowledges that traditional craft forms are rooted in the idea of functionality and are created to be handled. Jewelry structures respond to the bodies on which they are worn. Domestic vessels are produced for use in the daily ritual of preparing and sharing a meal and textiles are designed to provide comfort and warmth when they are worn. The works selected for this exhibition reflect high levels of craftsmanship and incorporate touch in innovative ways.

The exhibit showcases 52 works by 35 artists in a range of disciplines. The artists include: Fumi Amano, Missy Graff Ballone, Josh Bass, Sarah Rachel Brown, Heather Buechler, Marcelyn Bennett Carpenter, Sunyoung Cheong, Yu-Chi Chien, Erika Diamond, Alicia Dietz, Annie Evelyn, Yael Friedman, Reagan Furqueron, Jeni Hansen Gard, Magda Gluszek, Holly Hanessian, Karen Hardy, Lucy Holtsnider, Katie Hudnall, Lauren Kalman and Kipp Bradford, Joshua Kosker, Kirk Lang, Kathleen Little, Meg Mitchell, Lyndsay Rice, Jina Seo, Suzanna Scott, Linda Tien, Kurt Treeby, Tonya Vance, Kimberly Winkle and Dukno Yoon.

Touch: Interactive Craft’s juror is Emily Zilber, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston’s first Ronald L. and Anita C. Wornick Curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts.

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

A theme show open to all area artists. Also showing: Knox Co. Student Show TBA.

Opening reception on Fri, Jan 15, 6:30-8:00 PM. Free and open to the public.

Exhibit viewing hours: Tu, Th 9-5; W, F 10-5; Sat 9-1. Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartctr.com

Select Saturdays: January 9th & 23rd, February 6th & 20th, March 5th & 19th, April 2nd & 16th

Nourish Knoxville’s 2016 Winter Market, held in the Historic 4th and Gill neighborhood, will host farm & food vendors selling pasture-raised meats, eggs, winter produce, honey, baked goods, coffee, artisan foods, and more by vendors from the Market Square Farmers’ Market. Outside, food trucks will be serving up lunch from locally sourced ingredients.

At Central United Methodist Church, 201 East 3rd Avenue, Knoxville, TN. For more information, contact Nourish Knoxville: info@nourishknoxville.org or (865) 805-8687

Saturday mornings from 10:30am-12:00pm, come to this FREE class and brush up on your improv skills!

At The Birdhouse, 800 N 4th Ave, Knoxville, TN 37917. Info: karlalanhess@gmail.com
http://birdhouseknoxville.com/about-we/regular-programming/improv-comedy-class/

Bliss Home, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, February 5th, from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided and Starr's art will be featured for the month of February.

Ocean Starr Cline was born in San Francisco and raised in Alabama on an 11 acre farm. She moved to Knoxville almost 10 years ago after finishing her BA and MA in English Literature at the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama. After arriving in Knoxville, she immediately began showing and selling her work on Gay Street as well as Gatlinburg, in addition to her nationwide internet based sales. Cline is a self taught full-time artist. She has been painting for over 20 years. Her inspirations come directly from her experience living on a farm in the country and her education in English Literature. Many of her paintings are heavily textured, which causes them to change through the day as the light passes through a room. Cline's January exhibit focuses on ideas of identity and the mix between the faces we would show to the world and the ones we hide even from ourselves. https://www.etsy.com/shop/OceanStarr

Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-329-8868, www.shopinbliss.com