Calendar of Events

Recent works by Suzanne Jack and Nelson Ziegler will be featured throughout November at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the artists, including complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Cat's Away, will begin at 5:30 p.m. on November 2nd, during Downtown Knoxville's monthly First Friday Art Walk.

The show will highlight woodturned platters, bowls and other 3-D forms by Nelson Ziegler, as well as a new series of paintings by Suzanne Jack focussed on the urban Knoxville landscape and viewing the Sunsphere from a variety of vantage points. After Jake Butcher brought the World's Fair to Knoxville in 1982, the Sunsphere remains as a celebration of world culture in harmony.

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery, at 422 South Gay St., is a few doors away from Mast General store and next to Downtown Grill & Brewery. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on First Fridays; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. The gallery is wheelchair accessible, and parking in the abutting garage and on the street is free on weekends and after 6 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call 865-525-5265, or visit artmarketgallery.net or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.

To celebrate their 70th anniversary as part of the Knoxville community, Zoo Knoxville will be offering 70 cent admission with the donation of a non-perishable food item for Mission of Hope or pet supplies for Young-Williams Animal Center, The Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley and Knox County’s Office on Aging PAWS program Nov. 1-30, 2018.

General zoo admission tickets for ages four and up are 70 cents each and parking is free Nov. 1-30, 2018, with a donated item for each ticket. To ensure a safe and pleasant experience for guests, a limited number of tickets are available for each day, and advance online purchase is required. Tickets can be purchased online at zooknoxville.org.

The donations help local non-profit organizations Mission of Hope, Young-Williams Animal Center, The Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley and Knox County Office on Aging’s Knox PAWS program.

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org

"Sacred and Profane" exhibition the Frieson Black Cultural Center (extended)

The art gallery at the Frieson Black Cultural Center is featuring "Sacred and Profane," a retrospective exhibition of mixed-media prints by Marc Z. DeBose. DeBose, who received his MFA in Studio Art (printmaking) in 2002, died unexpectedly on Monday April 2, 2018 from a ruptured aorta. Marc’s father Frank DeBose, who loaned most of the works for this exhibition, is Professor Emeritus in Visual Communication Design at the School of Art Institute of Chicago where Marc completed his BFA in printmaking, electronic art and photography in 1996. The exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate his creative spirit. The exhibition will run through February 28, 2019.

Several of the works in the exhibition are from Marc’s MFA thesis, which examined the African-American experience in relationship to community police-work. These works also express the influences of his synthesis of Catholic and Pentecostal roots on family and community interactions. Following his MFA degree, Marc Z, DeBose continued his studio practice while also pursuing a career as a Chicago policeman.

1800 Melrose Ave., Knoxville. https://art.utk.edu/mixed-media-prints-by-utk-alumnus-marc-z-debose-at-the-frieson-black-cultural-centerr/

Reception date TBA

In the Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts will host the third Figurative Association Symposium from November 7-10, 2018. In 2010, Arrowmont presented the first symposium, which focused on and featured the figure in ceramics. In 2014, we expanded that focus to include sculpture in all media. Now, in 2018, we are welcoming all disciplines to the symposium – including 2-D, 3-D and expanded media.

https://www.arrowmont.org/visit/events/figurative-association-symposium/

In the Sandra J. Blain Gallery
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

Gay Bryant’s work is on exhibit at the downtown Knoxville Tomato Head from October 7th thru November 4th and at the West Knoxville Gallery Tomato Head from November 5th thru December 3rd.

Aristotle spent a lot of time thinking about the human drive to control circumstances that interfere with a happy, safe, and productive life. As silly as it might sound, the philosopher was describing the same basic urge that impels us to insulate our houses and to buy insurance – we like to have a buffer between us and misfortune. Of course, at some level and in some circumstances, control is impossible. Often the only seeming answer is acceptance which means letting go of control and hoping for the best. Relationships can be like that. Watercolors can be the same.

In fact, if you talk to as many artists as we do, you’ll find that many of them believe that their work guides them (not the other way around) and that the best thing they can do is to just get out of the way. Artist Gay Bryant feels that way, at least some of the time: “Mostly I work in watercolor. And the key is letting go, to let the paint do its thing.”

And while it may appall some ancient Greeks and more than a few control freaks among us, her ability to trust in fate or good luck or providence (or whatever you want to call it) leads Bryant to more than a few beautiful places. Her nature paintings are evocative without being dogmatic; the gentle patterns recall a presence, a sense of being there, but they’re not so specific that you can’t imagine being there yourself. In fact, you may feel compelled to visit Alum Creek or Icewater Spring at dawn to experience Bryant’s subjects with your own eyes.

Read more about the artist and her work: http://thetomatohead.com/gay-bryant/

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

Opening: October 5th from 6PM-9PM (the show will be up through the end of November.)

Chris McAdoo is a painter, printmaker, and designer living in East Tennessee. His work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, collections, and publications around the country and he has been an active studio artist for nearly twenty years.

In addition to having work on display, Chris will be painting live during the opening! All are welcome to come and watch, and Chris is happy to talk with folks as the process unfolds.

“My most recent series focuses on memory (or the lack thereof) and the significance that we attach to objects and places, particularly when we take them out of their original context. My work is an extension of my own experiences growing up in the south and a comment on my connections that give me a visceral reaction to the past rather than simple nostalgia. While the paintings speak to me in a very particular way, I would much rather suggest a narrative to the viewer than to lay it all on the table.”

Ongoing Show: Blanket Fort Studios---Kendra Barth (of Blanket Fort) produces funky ceramic pieces. Working out of her studio here in Knoxville, she uses a unique style to evoke wonder in her pieces. "I created this studio to share my love of naive wonder and storytelling."

Rala, 112 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Phone: (865) 525-7888
Instagram: @ShopRala
https://shoprala.com/

Opening reception Sep 29, 7-9 PM with gallery talk at 6:30 PM and awards at 7 PM

Open Show is the Art Center's annual juried mixed media exhibition focusing on exceptional work being produced in our area. Anyone may enter. There are no size, media, or geographic limitations - it is open to all artists of all media.

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

A Home for Our Past: The Museum of East Tennessee History at 25 a new feature exhibition at the Museum of East Tennessee History

The public opening of the exhibition begins at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, September 14, with light refreshments and ribbon cutting and remarks at 5:15.

When the Museum of East Tennessee History opened in 1993, it fulfilled a shared vision to preserve and interpret the region’s rich history for the benefit of all, a vision first articulated a century and a half earlier. On May 5, 1834, Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey addressed a group of a historically-minded citizens gathered for the first annual meeting of the East Tennessee Historical and Antiquarian Society. Concerned that many of the participants in Tennessee’s early history were passing away and with them their memories, Ramsey issued a call to action: “Let us hasten to redeem the time that is lost.”

Today, 184 years later, Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey’s plea to save Tennessee’s past continues to reverberate in the galleries of the East Tennessee Historical Society’s museum, a permanent home for our region’s cherished stories, traditions, and artifacts. The East Tennessee Historical Society actively began collecting artifacts and producing award-winning interpretive exhibits in 1993, which has now grown to more than 16,000 artifacts housed within the East Tennessee History Center. In this special exhibition, ETHS is excited to highlight East Tennessee’s unique history through a variety of artifacts, with at least one exhibited item from each year of ETHS’s active 25 years of collections, most of which are rarely or never on display.

The exhibition includes more than twenty-five artifacts and numerous photographs and illustrations representative of East Tennessee’s unique history. Some of the items include an 1883 Springfield penny-farthing, the first apparatus to be called a “bicycle”; an 1822 artificial hand that belonged to a teacher from Union County; a silver coffee and tea service from the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad presented to Superintendent James Baker Hoxsie upon his retirement in 1866; a coverlet woven by one of the famed Walker sisters of Greenbrier; a shirt stating “Healing in the name of Jesus. Take up serpents, Acts 2:38” worn during religious services practicing snake handling in Cocke County; an 1817 bead necklace belonging to Eliza Sevier, the wife of Templin Ross and the granddaughter of both John Sevier and Cherokee Chief Oconostota; a 1907 baseball uniform from a coal town’s team in Marion County; and the distinctive backdrop and wall clock from WBIR-TV variety program "The Cas Walker Farm & Home Show." The exhibit also features a brilliant display of East Tennessee furniture, textiles, folk art, instruments, and vintage toys.

Also on display are more than two dozen featured artifacts from the Tennessee State Museum. A new Tennessee State Museum will open on the grounds of the Bicentennial Capital Mall in Nashville on October 4. ETHS is honored to display select East Tennessee artifacts from their collection, highlighting the programmatic ties between the two institution as well as the museums’ shared mission to preserve Tennessee’s rich history. Selected items include a 1792 map of the State of Franklin, an 1831 copy of the Cherokee Phoenix & Indians Advocate newspaper, and a 19th century flintlock muzzle loading rifle made by Baxter Bean of Washington County.

East Tennessee Historical Society, 601 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Museum hours: M-F 9-4, Sa 10-4, Su 1-5. Information: 865-215-8824, www.easttnhistory.org

Tuesdays 3-6 PM: Ebenezer Road Farmers Market, 1001 Ebenezer Road, Knoxville
Wednesdays 3-6 PM: Oak Ridge Farmers Market, Jackson Square
Fridays 3-6 PM: Lakeshore Park Farmers Market, 5908 Lyons View Drive, Knoxville
Saturdays 8 AM-Noon: Oak Ridge Farmers Market, Jackson Square

We bring the farm to you! Since 1976, the East TN Farmers Association (FARM) has offered fresh, local food and farm-based crafts. We have three convenient farmers market locations. All three locations offer sustainably produced grass-fed meat, hand-picked produce, farm fresh eggs, artisan bread and cheese, local honey, flowers and farm-based crafts. We inspect our vendors to make sure they are 100 percent local, all the time. The market is open mid-April through late November. Join us this season for high-quality food and crafts, in a convenient location!
http://www.easttnfarmmarkets.org/index.asp

Dogwood Arts Art In Public Places - Temporary Sculpture Exhibition

Art in Public Places is a large-scale outdoor sculpture program showcased throughout Knoxville, Oak Ridge, and Alcoa, Tennessee. The annual rotating installation is one of many Dogwood Arts programs focused on providing access to the arts for everyone, promoting awareness of the strong visual arts community thriving in our region, and creating a vibrant and inspiring environment for residents and visitors to experience. Over the past eleven years, Dogwood Arts has curated and installed over 220 works of art, and the Art In Public Places program has gained national recognition as a platform for world-class artists. This year’s ambitious collection of sculptures created by artists from across the nation has been selected by Director of the Zuckerman Museum of Art, Justin Rabideau.

Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com

Meeting every Sunday from 11 AM - noon at Adair Park, 1807 Adair Drive, Knoxville, TN 37918, near the Gazebo and Playground.

Meeting every Wednesday from 6-7 PM at Good People, 4026 Chapman Hwy, Knoxville, TN 37920.

Beginning April 7, meeting on Saturdays from 11 AM - noon at Olde Mechanicsville Park on Arthur St. near the Firehouse and the Lotus Light Center.

Requested donation of $10 for each class, $17 for two classes/week, or $22 for 3 classes/week.

Information: Karl Hess, karlalanhess@gmail.com