Calendar of Events

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to Gwen Pevonka's First Friday, Tori Mason Shoes is pleased to extend Gwen's First Friday to December! Tori Mason Shoes, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, December 2nd, from 6pm to 9pm. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided and Gwyn's art will be featured for the month of December.

"This was our first time featuring Gwen as a First Friday artist and we really noticed a positive response. Gwen's art features a lot of color and texture that people are drawn to," notes Heather Castellaw.

Gwen Pevonka experiments with paint as an object and is interested in the Heroic Gesture of a woman as she creates large-scale paintings that are just as much about line and color as they are about texture. These completely abstract pieces are vibrant with movement. Through gouging and carving, the paint is physically removed from the surface. Digging deeper in some areas, while more shallow in others, psychedelic colors are revealed, evoking emotion and excited contemplation. Gwyn Pevonka is originally from Indiana. She graduated with a BFA in Painting from Appalachian State University in 2011.

29 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902. Phone: (865) 673-6711

Are you a fan of Brian Pittman aka "The Cathedral Guy"? Have you always wanted to own an original? Here's your chance! Brian has created 32 new pieces for this annual show and we are honored to feature his work throughout the holiday season (and perhaps into January 2017). Brian is an architect by trade, drawing cathedrals is his hobby and way to relax. He draws every piece without the use of rulers or guides. Each one is a fictional place that he creates. Brian hand picks each salvaged vintage frame, which makes them even more special! Brian has also created this unique Knoxville Skyline Tshirt that we are proud to carry exclusively at Rala. Stop by Rala on Fri Nov 4 from 6-10 pm and watch Brian draw!

RALA, 323 Union Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com/

Opening reception: Friday, November 4, 5-8 p.m.

The District Gallery is pleased to present States of Matter, a duo exhibition featuring potter Lisa Kurtz and painter Ginger Oglesby. Within two new respective bodies of work, States of Matter explores the push and pull of their separate disciplines and the integral factors that connect them. Complementary in their approaches, Kurtz and Oglesby create a spectrum of works that travels between paint and clay, canvas and vessel, earth and atmosphere, tactile and intangible.

A native southerner, Brentwood, Tennessee artist Ginger Oglesby grew up in a near constant pursuit of creative endeavors. Drawing from her background in modern dance, Oglesby makes paintings that are as kinesthetic as they are abstract, suggesting the ephemeral nature of rhythm and movement. Atmospheric, loose and free, her paintings are a climate all their own. Conveying tension and harmony, chaos and order, Oglesby describes her process as an intuitive dance that “captures the vibrant attitudes of the human heart.”

Based in Knoxville, Tennessee, ceramic artist Lisa Kurtz centers her work in her affinity for clay, calling it “a love affair with the material itself.” Exploring the wonderful, malleable qualities of clay in all its states of being, be it wet, fired, or glazed, Lisa creates pots that are both sculptural entities and functional vessels. Contrasting raw and earthy textures with smooth and polished surfaces, Kurtz’s work is grounded in its materiality. In her latest body of work, Kurtz transfigures the vessel by revealing the space inside with cutouts and voids. She piques a sense of curiosity in the viewer: what is inside? Are there surprises? Is it a glimpse into another state of matter?

Please join us Friday, November 4 from 5-8 p.m. for a special evening that combines a duo exhibition with our annual Thankful Event. Meet the artists, celebrate the season with festive food and drink, and get a first look at our new holiday inventory.

The District Gallery, 5113 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-F 10-5:30, Sa 10-4. Information: 865-200-4452, www.TheDistrictGallery.com

Broadway Studios And Gallery presents "Hope and Intuition", an exhibit featuring the art of Jessica Payne and Bailey Earith. Jessica Payne is a painter. She is inspired by color and imagery found in nature. She uses layers of paint, leaving some areas barely worked and re-working others repeatedly to create a sense of mystery. Jessica is enamored with glitter and metallic paint which give an extra dimension to her work. Her work has been frequently seen locally. Bailey Earith has been involved in all aspects of art but feels at home with fibers. In her fiber based work, she also uses beads, vintage buttons, feathers, hand painted fabric among other things. She creates both two and three dimensional art. It is her hope that the viewer will feel a sense of joy and well-being upon seeing her work. Her work has been displayed in galleries across the country.

Opening reception is on First Friday, Nov. 4th from 5-9 PM. Will be closed Thanksgiving day Nov. 24 and Open Friday Nov 25.

Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. Hours: Thurs-Sat, 11-7. Information: 865-556-8676, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com

Opening reception: Friday, November 4, 5:00-9:00 PM

My studio is in a garage that we converted several years ago. Before having this space available my studio was anywhere I settled to paint. I was born in Houston, TX on June 7, 1936 and moved back to Tennessee before I was a year old. I graduated from Pi Beta Phi High School in Gatlinburg which included arts and crafts. I moved to Wenatchee, WA with my husband in 1957, also lived in Seattle where I attended classes at the Cornish School of Art and Ellensburg, WA where I attended Central Washington College in studying art.

I moved back to Knoxville, TN in 1983 and have lived in South Knoxville since then. Art has always been special to me. I began by drawing people and things at Phi Beta Phi in Gatlinburg, TN. I like to paint still life’s and portraits and abstracts as well as doing mixed media. I use oil, acrylic paints as well as pastels and other media. For the past few years I have been concentrating on abstracts along with portraits. This type of painting offers me freedom of expression; by this I mean finding a bond between myself and the canvas. I let my thoughts and emotions use my hands and eyes to create the images that appear on the canvas or board. Colors vary in intensity to express my mood at the time of painting.

I hope to influence artistic thought through this show and bring to the other artists who are drawn to this type of expression the freedom to do it their way. This freedom of expression can enhance the viewer’s imagination when it is allowed to absorb the shapes and colors of the painting. Please come and experience my work and let me know what you think of it.

The exhibition is on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium is closed Thursday-Friday, November 24-25, for the holiday. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit www.knoxalliance.com

Opening reception: Friday, November 4, 5:00-9:00 PM

The works chosen for this show were inspired by places Marta Goebel-Pietrasz has traveled to in the past or wants to visit in the future. She is especially interested in searching for the unusual or even magical in locations we consider familiar. Her process starts with taking pictures and then creating imaginary worlds using mixed media techniques such as oil paint, tempera, watercolor, and colored pencils. Although each piece is based on reality and may resemble a photograph of a specific place or person, the subject matter is fully invented and does not actually exist.

Marta Goebel-Pietrasz started her art training at the Art School in Gdynia and Academy of Fine Arts, Gdansk, Poland. She holds a BFA in Studio Art, concentration in printmaking, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at UTK as well. Marta has taken part in about 40 art exhibitions in the United States and abroad, and she has taught art classes at the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning and in her home studio. For more information, please visit http://www.artmajeur.com/gebmart.

The exhibition is on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium is closed Thursday-Friday, November 24-25, for the holiday. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit www.knoxalliance.com

Opening reception: Friday, November 4, 5:00-9:00 PM

The Variety and Beauty of Friends is a collection from six artists, ranging in age from 30s to 80s, including Mike C. Berry, Steve Bryan, Tina Curry, Eun-Sook Kim, Cynthia Markert, and Ericka Ryba. Professional experience spans from none to nearly four decades, with work dated from 1968 to present. Various media are represented in styles from figurative to abstract. Curating this exhibit was fun, and we hope viewers will enjoy it as well.

The exhibition is on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium is closed Thursday-Friday, November 24-25, for the holiday. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit www.knoxalliance.com

Opening reception: Friday, November 4, 5:00-9:00 PM

Fiber art work is Eun-Sook Kim’s newest endeavor, which she started a few years ago. “It is truly exciting to explore with fiber all the possibilities beyond traditional techniques such as embroidery and quilting,” she says.

Eun-Sook Kim received her B.A. in English literature from Ewha Woman’s University in Seoul, Korea in the early 1960s. She was accepted into a graduate program at the University of Tennessee, and upon moving to Knoxville, she married and then stayed home with her children until they finished college. At that point, she resumed her graduate studies and received an M.F.A. in ceramics from UT in the 1990s. Her work has been featured in various juried shows throughout the U.S. and in Japan and Korea, and she has held solo exhibitions locally in Ewing Gallery, The Art Market Gallery, Oak Ridge Art Center, and the American Museum of Science and Energy. She founded and directed both the Corner Gallery and the Upstairs Gallery in Oak Ridge for many years. Currently, Kim is a member of the National Council for Educators of Ceramic Art, the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists (TACA), Foothills Craft Guild and the Art Market Gallery. She has extensive experience leading workshops, lectures, and teaching. Her work has appeared in various ceramics magazines published globally. For more information on Eun-Sook Kim, please visit www.eunsookkim.com.

The exhibition is on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium is closed Thursday-Friday, November 24-25, for the holiday. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit www.knoxalliance.com

Opening reception: Friday, November 4, 5:00-9:00 PM

For almost all of my 37 years in photography, I have been shooting “straight” or representational photographs. But after viewing an exhibit of the “Knoxville Seven” at the Knoxville Museum of Art, I have a new perspective. The KMA show featured the work of seven abstract expressionist painters with Knoxville ties.

I have always had an affinity for abstract art, but I had never pursued it in my photography. This work represents a new direction for my art.

I have left the photographs untitled so as not to influence the viewer. I believe that if the object is identified, that is often all the viewer can “see”. I want the viewer to have an open mind and let the photograph speak to them. I believe everyone will have their own unique idea of what the art represents.

These works of art all began as photographs. Only minimal work was done in Photoshop.

The exhibition is on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium is closed Thursday-Friday, November 24-25, for the holiday. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit www.knoxalliance.com

JOIN US! for a reception on Friday, November 4th, 5-9PM at the UT Downtown Gallery

An exhibition of new and recent works by artist Jessica Ann entitled; Guts Coming and Going. Featuring video, sculpture, and interactive installation, the exhibition explores the material potential at the edge of the world wide web. Composed of many parts, each component is networked together by Ann’s desire to meet what she calls the “aggregate monster.” An entity lurking and learning amidst the ever cooled data banks of your external and eternal memory. Data siphoned daily among a trillion other self published transmissions, happening across facebook, text messages, phone calls, emails, twitter, cameras, and networked refrigerators. What fabulation might emerge among all this noise is presented here as objects and subjects oozing off the grid and into mixed reality.

Free admission! UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sat 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

First Friday at Dogwood Arts with a reception on November 4, 5:30-8:30 PM

Dogwood Arts' First Friday events and exhibitions highlight our 18 unique programs and support the creativity of local and regional artists. Our doors are open, and we welcome you to join us as we showcase and celebrate artists and art lovers at our new office located at 123 W. Jackson Ave in Downtown Knoxville’s Historic Old City.

Ericka Ryba & Coulter Grove Intermediate School will create a beautiful dogwood installation in honor of our Bazillion Blooms program. Ericka will also exhibit her elegant ceramic artworks.

Going into its eighth year, Dogwood Arts, along with local nursery partners, have sold and planted over 8,000 April-blooming, disease-resistant dogwood trees! Bazillion Blooms was established with the goal of restoring the former vitality and beauty of the dogwood tree population in our East Tennessee communities. Help us reach our goal of 10,000 trees in 10 years by purchasing a dogwood tree.

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Viewing Hours (10-4) M-F. 865-637-4560, www.dogwoodarts.com

Tiger Lily Theatre, in conjunction with Tennessee Stage Company, proudly present William Shakespeare's Hamlet like you have never seen it before. This production utilizes gender blind casting rather than traditional casting, ensuring the right actor plays the right part, regardless of gender. You won't soon forget this fresh, modern take on one of the Bard's most recognizable tragedies.

The production runs November 4th-6th and November 10th-13th. All performances are at 8 PM. Adults $15, Students $12. Make reservations by emailing us at tigerlilytheatretn@gmail.com.

At Historic Southern Railway Station, 300 W Depot Ave, Knoxville, Tennessee 37917. https://www.facebook.com/Tiger-Lily-Theatre-281478158575613/