Calendar of Events

Neil Simon’s most popular and enduring comedy comes to the Playhouse for the first time in nearly 50 years. Felix Unger, recently separated from his wife, shows up on the doorstep of fellow divorcee, Oscar Madison. Feeling sympathy for his depressed (and possibly suicidal) friend, Oscar takes Felix in and they ultimately become roommates. It does not take long, however, for the inevitable clash between the neurotic neat-freak and the slovenly grouch to result in a hilariously strained battle of wills.

Showtimes
Fri Mar 10, 2017 | 8:00PM
Sat Mar 11, 2017 | 8:00PM
Sun Mar 12, 2017 | 2:00PM
Thu Mar 16, 2017 | 8:00PM
Fri Mar 17, 2017 | 8:00PM
Sat Mar 18, 2017 | 8:00PM
Sun Mar 19, 2017 | 2:00PM

Oak Ridge Playhouse, 227 Broadway, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Information and tickets: 865-482-9999, www.orplayhouse.com

Artist’s Reception: Monday, March 20th 4PM to 8PM

At Burlington Library 4614 Asheville Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: alan.jones@tys.org

Rala: Regional and Local Artisans

During First Friday on March 3rd, Rala will be celebrating their Grand "Re-Opening" at 112 W. Jackson Ave in the Old City. Featured artist for March is local artist Sarah Moore. Moore is a painter who creates nostalgic landscapes. Her paintings feature places that "evoke both nostalgia and sense of longing for spans of stolen delight." Be sure to stop by from 6-9 pm to meet the artist and see Rala's new location! http://smoorestudio.com/

RALA, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-525-7888, https://shoprala.com/

The exhibit is called Bambina Americana - A photography exhibition by Casey Perfetto.

Opening reception March 3 from 6-10 pm
At The Village, 133c South Gay Street, Knoxville TN 37902. Information: gdg821@vols.utk.edu.

For the 27th year in a row, dozens of regional dry cleaners are coming together to support job training in their community through Goodwill’s Project Wear and Share. This annual clothing drive, a collaboration between Goodwill Industries-Knoxville and participating dry cleaning establishments, is designed to raise awareness about Goodwill’s vocational services while providing dozens of new opportunities to donate unneeded clothes and linens.

Donations will be sold at Goodwill’s 28 regional thrift stores; proceeds will benefit Goodwill’s vocational training and employment opportunities for individuals with barriers to employment. Training programs range from computer literacy to certified nurse assistant courses, career assessment and planning to job placement services. In 2016, Goodwill Industries-Knoxville served over 3,750 individuals in their 15-county East Tennessee service area.

Participating dry cleaners are located in Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Farragut, Maryville, Alcoa, Seymour, Sevierville, and Morristown. Donations can be made at any participating cleaner during their regular business hours. Helpful donations include gently used clothing, shoes and linens. Find a list of participating dry cleaners at www.goodwillknoxville.org or contact the Goodwill Marketing Team at 865.588.8567.

Recent works by artist Marjorie Horne and clay works created by 11 Art Market Gallery artists will open with a reception at 5:30 p.m., March 3, during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk, with complimentary refreshments, and music performed by Carl Gombert.

Marjorie Horne’s transparent and reflective surfaces have been recurrent themes in her colored pencil drawings and watercolors. More recently she has included landscapes, cityscapes, nature studies, figures, and portraits in her work. Originally from Richmond, Indiana, Marjorie is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a member of the Colored Pencil Society of America. One of her pieces is included in CPSA’s The Best of Colored Pencil V. Always, art is a form of meditation for her. It feeds her soul and brings wholeness to her life.

The Art Market Gallery’s clay artists and sculptors have gathered together this month to reveal a wide variety of style, vision, and technique. The clay artists include Hugh Bailey, Gray Bearden, Bob Concliffe, Ann Dally, Larry Gabbard, Patricia Herzog, Eun-Sook Kim, Lisa Kurtz, Karen Kyte, Amber Anne Palo, and Linda Sullivan.

Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: Tu-Th & Sa 11-6, Fri 11-9, Su 1-6. Information: 865-525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net or www.Facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery

Reception Feb 27, 6-8 PM with awards at 7 PM.

Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

Opening reception Feb. 17 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.; artists’ talks at 6:30 p.m.

David Butler was trained as an art historian, but he managed to take a few studio classes along the way. His job entails looking at lots of work by other artists, which he says is a great way to learn but can be intimidating. Because his time to make art is extremely limited, he uses mostly pastel, charcoal, and watercolor because they allow him to work quickly. He is inspired by the landscape of East Tennessee and hopes these works convey how much he loves this part of the world. Butler joined the Knoxville Museum of Art as executive director in 2006 after serving as the director of the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University; the Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana; and the Emerson Gallery at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in art history from Florida State University, and his Ph.D. in art history with concentration on seventeenth-century Italian art and architecture from Washington University in St. Louis.

Diane Hamilton finds nature a great inspiration. She says that many times her kids would say "Mom! Get back in the car! We are going to be late for school and you already have a million pictures of the sunrise!" She believes that you can never have too many pictures of something beautiful. She was born in Melbourne, Florida and grew up playing outside as much as possible. A good day would consist of throwing oranges and grapefruits at her siblings, eating lunch under the moss-draped trees, and drawing in the sand. She still likes to draw and paint with pastels, but unfortunately she no longer gets to launch any citrus at relatives.

Alejandro Rodriguez: The Facets of My HeART
Rodriguez uses oils, water color, tissues, alcohol ink, and most recently, pen and ink. His mood dictates where he wants his art to go. The deep religious undertones in his paintings reflect universality within diversity. Sometimes the works are tight, graphic and literal, harkening back to his graphic and architectural training. Others are looser and semi-abstract, when he wants the message to be clear with an impressionistic view. Born on the shores of Fajardo, Puerto Rico, seemingly with a crayon in his hand, it was a winding road that took Alex from Puerto Rico to New York City and then to the banks of the Little River in idyllic Blount County. He graduated from The School of Art and Design in Manhattan, receiving many awards in his four years there. Those were years of intense study with multiple media and techniques. He worked as a graphic designer, carpenter and home renovator. When he relocated to the red clay of Blount County, with cows and horses as neighbors, the art fever returned and Rodriguez began photographing and painting beautiful East Tennessee. As a member of the Knoxville Museum of Art and its guild, Rodriguez participated in the Artist On Location event and contributes works to auctions for the Smoky Mountain Heritage Center, the Hope Center, and Knoxville Jewish Day School among others. He had a successful one-man show in the Paris Apartment in Sweetwater, Tenn.

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 Knoxville Museum of Art announces an exciting new exhibition, Virtual Views: Digital Art from the Thoma Foundation. This electronic media exhibition is presented in conjunction with the 2017 Big Ears music festival. Drawn from the extensive Chicago-based collection of Carl and Marilynn Thoma, Virtual Views explores the growing importance of electronic new media in contemporary art as seen in the work of artists who are pioneers in the use of LEDs (light-emitting diodes), LCD (liquid crystal display), and computer-driven imagery. The exhibition features nine electronic works comprised of synthetic materials and powered by digital technology, yet the rhythms and patterns of its imagery are derived from nature. The featured artists include Jim Campbell, Craig Dorety, John Gerrard, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Alan Rath, Daniel Rozin, Björn Schülke, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Leo Villareal.

Virtual Views is organized by the KMA and presented in conjunction with the 2017 Big Ears Festival March 23-26.

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

From domesticated cats to mythic symbols of divinities, felines played an important role in ancient Egyptian imagery for thousands of years. Now, 80 items from the Egyptian holdings of the Brooklyn Museum will be on view in "Divine Felines". Likely first domesticated in ancient Egypt, cats were revered for their fertility and valued for their ability to protect homes and granaries from vermin. But felines were also associated with royalty and deities. Combining a lion's body and a king's head, sphinxes guarded temple entrances and provided protection as temple objects. The ferocious goddess Sakhmet, depicted as a lioness or lion-headed woman, and the goddess Bastet, represented as a cat or a cat-headed woman, together symbolized the duality of feline nature — caring yet dangerous. The male leonine gods Bes and Tutu were popularly worshiped as protectors of fertility, health and fortune.

Exhibition programming, all free and open to the public, also will include:
• A lecture on mummification in ancient Egypt by scholar Bob Brier, co-sponsored by the East Tennessee Society of the Archaeological Institute of America, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21.
• Two free family fun days—"Purrs from the Past," 1–4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, and "To Kitties' Health," 1¬–4 p.m. Saturday, March 25.
• A stroller tour for caregivers and infants through four-year-olds, "Kitties and Toddlers," at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 27.
• A lecture on cat behavior by Julie Albright from UT's School of Veterinary Medicine at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 19.

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

Tori Mason Shoes is pleased to present original music and new art from local artist, Robert Thompson, for February and March First Fridays! This is the first time Tori Mason Shoes will feature an artist who is displaying new works while serenading first Friday attendees with original compositions, ragtime and Bach.

Tori Mason Shoes, located at 29 Market Square, will host an opening reception on Friday, February 3, 6-9 PM and again on Friday, March 3, 6-9 PM. Complimentary treats from Wild Love Bakehouse will be provided and Robert's art will be featured for the months of February-March. Half of all proceeds from sale of his art will be donated to the Love Kitchen.

Robert Thompson was born and grew up in Kansas City; however, he has called Knoxville home since 1981. Thompson worked as a lawyer for nearly 30 years but now has the time to try other things. Active in A1 LabArts, South Doyle Neighborhood Association, and Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals. Artist's Website: http://t3andp.wixsite.com/artist-painter

Tori Mason Shoes, 29 Market Square, Knoxville. https://www.torimasonshoes.com/

See artwork by Beth Meadows of With Bear Hands and featured artist Sarah McFalls opening Friday, February 3, 5-7 PM in the With Bear Hands Gallery at Magpies. Refreshments provided! All artwork will be for sale.

846 N. Central Street, Knoxville. 865-673-0471, www.magpiescakes.com