Calendar of Events

Monday, November 21, 2016

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts: Pigment of Our Imagination: Jewelry Exhibit by Sam Mitchell and Aric Verrastro

Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts invites you to view Pigment of Our Imagination – an exhibition by artists Sam Mitchell and Aric Verrastro. Pigment of Our Imagination showcases an array of mixed-media jewelry pieces created by Mitchell and Verrastro independently and collaboratively. Mitchell's whimsical adornment explores childhood themes through personal memory and new experiences she shares with her son. Verrastro's vibrant work reflects the energy of a city environment and its nightlife.

Sam Mitchell is a maker and educator residing in Iowa City, IA. She received her BFA from James Madison University in 2009 and her MFA in Metal and Jewelry Arts from the University of Iowa in 2014. Mitchell was a recipient of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Grant in 2012. Her most recent work has been shown at Sieraad in Amsterdam (2015), AV Gallery in Vilnius, Lithuania (2014) and The Walker Center in Minneapolis, MN (2014). For more information, visit her website at www.aldentedesigns.com.

Aric Verrastro is currently a foundations lecturer at the University of Wisconsin – Stout in Menomonie, WI. Verrastro received his MFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design from Indiana University in 2015. Aric was recently selected as a finalist for the 2016 Art Jewelry Forum Artist Award. Verrastro’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in Milwaukee, WI, Bloomington, IN, New York, NY, Houston, TX, Aspen, CO, Vilnius, Lithuania, Stockholm, Sweden, Munich, Germany and more. For more information, visit his website at www.aricverrastro.com.

In the Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery. Admission is free and open to the public. 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

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Gallery Exhibition

  • October 16, 2016 — December 8, 2016

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

Art exhibit by Thomas Riesing and Koichi Yamamoto

Opening reception November 18 from 5 to 8:00 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

Thomas Riesing: These artworks, produced from 2007 to the present, utilize drawing not only to develop ideas before and during the painting process, but also as independent works of art. The drawing materials include graphite, silver point, and ballpoint pen. Riesing prefers sketching with ballpoint because of its fluidity and its unique ways of developing relative densities and layers of information. The graphite drawings allow for erasing and reduction, while the silver point drawings require a more deliberate, subtle approach to image and surface development. The places represented include East Tennessee and the Smoky Mountains, the Pocono Mountains and Delaware River Gap, and the forests along the coast of Oregon. Riesing responds to the light and space between and beyond the persistent verticality of the trees.

Koichi Yamamoto: Layers of line and folds within the sediment provide a sense of connection in Yamamoto’s crafted illusion of landscape. The significance of each moment, a fraction of time, is not lost in the grand scale of the completed work. Removing copper from the plate surface, he begins to cultivate a specific landscape. Multiple prints from multiple plates provide maps of the excavation, each image a record of past events. Using these samples, he discovers a significant composition. In contrast, the monotype is transparent; there are no interruptions in form as it appears. It is a seemingly tangible moment and like tectonic plates, it is dynamic and in constant motion.

Free and open to the public. Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: M-Th 10-5, Su 10-1. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

The Tomato Head: Exhibition by Ruth Allen

  • October 2, 2016 — December 5, 2016

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

Back for her third showing at The Tomato Head, Ruth Allen skillfully crafts vivid drawings and paintings featuring nature’s flowers and wildlife. Since her last visit from Athens, Georgia, Ruth has had two paintings selected for juried shows and currently has a painting showing at ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Her work will be on view at Market Square from October 2 through November 7 and will then move to the West Knoxville Gallery on November 7 through December 5. For more artist information, please visit The Tomato head blog: http://thetomatohead.com/ruth-allen-featured-artist/ or https://www.etsy.com/shop/100tinybluebirds

Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville.

McClung Museum: Knoxville Unearthed: Archaeology in the Heart of the Valley

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Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Free event, History, heritage and Science, nature

In honor of Knoxville’s 225th anniversary, this exhibition explores the city’s heritage as seen through archaeological discoveries in the “Heart of the Valley.” Using historic artifacts unearthed in and around Knoxville, along with historical images, maps, documents, and oral histories, the exhibition tells the story of Knoxville’s development from a frontier settlement to an industrialized city.

Opening reception for members on Fri Sep 16, 5-7 PM.

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

Pienkow Art Gallery: Marcin Kowalik: A Tale of the Working (Wo)Man

  • September 2, 2016 — November 26, 2016

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

Please join us for our new exhibition! Opening reception Fri Sep 2, 5-7 PM in the main lobby of the consulate office, which hosts modern art from both established and emerging Polish artists. Please RSVP: drpienkowski@gmail.com or 865-584-4112

Marcin Kowalik’s paintings are dominated by abstract forms and empty spaces while featuring vibrant colors, illusions and a precision of lines and geometric structures. His work is nonanthropocentric – human figures rarely appear, and when they do, they are faceless, devoid of identity. Kowalik’s perception of reality dictates his work. His gaze is the architect’s – registering solids, enriching them with vibranace and a dose of artful spontaneity which gives rise to his novel, uncanny universe. For Kowalik, Picasso is a master of augmented reality. Kowalik is primarily interested in the Cubist period in the work of the Spanish artist, in the composition of spatial forms and their fragmentation. One of Picasso’s most fascinating aspects is his extraordinary inventiveness. Paintings, which appear shattered into prismatic fragments and recomposed without conformity to their initial arrangement, can be ‘read’ from the foreground, followed along the path delineated by the painter and, suddenly, apprehended not from the front, but sidewise.

In 1944, Pablo Picasso joined the Communist Party. It seems to have provided him with a model of victory and strength which he begins to identify with the Communists. His joining the Party has obvious roots in his painting, which he considered to be more than a mere source of pleasure. Line and color were his arms, which he wielded in his revolutionary fight. He confided in Communism, enchanted with the specious beauty of its motivating ideals, but was even more partial to the company he could find in its circles. The stage in the life of the celebrated cubist sparked Marcin Kowalik’s new cycle. The cycle on a (wo)man at work. Each of the thirty canvases represents a person with their occupational attribute. The different quality of the paintings in “A Tale of the Working (Wo)Man” cycle arises from the overload of minimalism, the pinnacle of which was reached by Kowalik in his work on “Convergents”, one of his most recent projects.

Here, he has sought chaos – introduced into his art by people, as various and volatile as the nature of painting. Despite his desire to renounce his creative asceticism, Kowalik’s human is still confined by the minimalist formal limits. To demonstrate a human form, it is sufficent to simply sketch an eye, the shape of a head and, immediately, a face outline becomes recognizable. This is the machination of the human mind – symmetrical points are sufficient for our imagination to fill in the missing parts. Apparently, the human has finally moved to the center of the young painter’s field of interest. However, these are mere appearances. Kowalik does not stray far from home and attempts to misplace the human figure, offering its simplest possible representation. He tells the tale of a human, but his tale is extremely complex and multi-faceted. He posed the challenge and has risen to it himself – undertaking the effort of organizing the experiment. He invited over a dozen of amateur painters to cooperation on committing to canvas their image of an occupation, inspired by the output of the author of “The Weeping Woman”. Website: www.kowalik.art.pl

Viewing hours M-F 8-5, Sat 8-11:30 AM. At the Center for Polish Culture | Pienkow Art Gallery, 7417 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. http://www.consulpoland.com/index.php/center-of-polish-culture/

Farragut Museum Features "Timeless Toys" Exhibit

  • August 25, 2016 — December 30, 2016

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

The Farragut Museum invites the community to visit "Timeless Toys." This exhibit will be on display through early 2017 (closed Dec. 24 and 25). This special exhibit will feature items from the Museum's collection of artifacts as well as items belonging to Museum Committee members. The exhibit showcases a variety of antique toys, games and dolls dating from the late 1800s through the 1900s. A featured item is the Rice doll house, designed and built in 1929 by local architect Malcolm Rice and a National Architecture Award recipient in 1930. Originally with electricity, the doll house was enjoyed by three generations of the Rice family. Museum committee member Lou LaMarche has loaned several 1940s toys from his personal collection, including toy soldiers, a Rudolph radio and an electric football game. In addition, the exhibit features a 1940s toy steam engine donated by museum volunteer Malcolm Shell.

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 about the museum or the exhibit, please visit www.townoffarragut.org/museum, like the museum at www.facebook.com/farragutmuseum, or contact Museum Coordinator Julia Barham at jbarham@townoffarragut.org or 966-7057.

Open Chord Music Concerts

  • August 15, 2016 — December 31, 2016

Category: Music

Get out and see some live music!
Open Chord Music, 8502 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Information: (865) 281-5874 or http://www.openchordmusic.com/live-music-venue

Monday Night Life Drawing

  • June 13, 2016 — December 31, 2016
  • 6-9 PM

Category: Classes, workshops and Exhibitions, visual art

Most Mondays of the year, 6:00-9:00 PM. Hosted by Doug Kimball. Bring your own materials and equipment. Limited chairs are available. Come with the intent of working hard and finding camaraderie and respect. This is a meditative session and runs $15 per session. Info: 865-696-2638, dorobkim63@gmail.com

Held in the Emporium Center annex located on the corner of Gay st. and Jackson ave.

Sound of the Smokies Show Chorus: Open Rehearsals

  • June 6, 2016 — December 31, 2016

Category: Classes, workshops, Free event and Music

Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, Sound of the Smokies is a chorus of women affiliated with Sweet Adelines International who enjoy singing 4-part a cappella harmony in the barbershop style. Our musical selections come from pop, gospel, Broadway, country, and barbershop. Members consist of women of all ages and from all walks of life. No formal musical training is needed to sing with our group. If you can carry a tune, we want you! Our members hail from all over the Knoxville area, as well as from Chattanooga, the Tri-Cities area, Kingston, Loudon, Dandridge, Newport, and many other areas. Our members continually learn to improve their personal vocal skills while learning fun, exciting music.

We rehearse on Mondays from 6:30-9:30 PM at Ball Camp Baptist Church, 2412 Ball Camp Byington Rd, Knoxville, TN 37931. Visitors are always welcome at our rehearsals. We're a very warm, friendly, welcoming group, and you will immediately feel welcome when you visit! Information: http://www.soundofthesmokies.com/

Dogwood Arts: Art in Public Places

Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event

A world-class visual arts exhibition of large-scale outdoor sculpture which enliven downtown Knoxville, the McGhee Tyson Airport and Oak Ridge. Sculpture artist Isaac Duncan III, a Brooklyn, New York native who currently resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee served as the Juror for the 2016-2017 exhibition. #AIPP

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

Knoxville Food Tours

  • February 22, 2016 — December 31, 2016

Category: Culinary arts, food and History, heritage

History, Food, & Fun! Enhance your time in Historic Downtown with Knoxville’s Award Winning, Original Tour! Enjoy a complete Knoxville experience in just a few hours – enjoy tastings of specially selected dishes from some of Knoxville’s best new and iconic restaurants featuring local, regional, Southern & Appalachian cuisine; add pairings of beer from local and craft breweries, wine flights, craft cocktails, Tennessee whiskey, or even moonshine; hear the history of the city and notable buildings. A must for locals and visitors!

Reservations Required. Purchase Tickets at www.knoxvillefoodtours.com or call 865-201-7270.

Knoxville Contra Dancers at the Laurel Theater

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Category: Dance, movement and Music

Contra dancing to live acoustic music. No experience or partner required. Dances are held every Monday night at 8:00 PM. Call: 865-599-9621.

At the Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37916. For information: 865-522-5851, www.jubileearts.org.

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