Calendar of Events

Celebration of the pieces at a reception on Sunday, April 3 from 2 to 4 PM.

The show is intended to answer the question: “What do you love?” We have asked our members to lend us up to six of their favorite pieces to share with the community to show a range of what speaks to and moves each of the individuals. In essence, it will be curated by the larger group, rather than a single person and, therefore, we are hoping it will be both diverse and dynamic.

There are all sorts of reasons people collect art. In most cases, artwork is displayed in our homes or work spaces, but in others it may not be. Most people buy art because they love the imagery and want to live with it to create a feeling or mood in their living space. The work may echo feelings, emotions, or memories they cherish. They may offer a range of emotions from comforting and soothing to exciting or invigorating. Work may also titillate the imagination, beckon stories, or challenge viewers to define or describe their subject matter. These may inspire ever changing reactions or a sense of renewal and inspire different feelings as one looks at the work over the long term. Some of us own pieces that have familial ties or generational importance. These items may involve references to one’s heritage or aspects from the culture or cultures from which they hail. Still others invest in artwork, hoping it will rise in value and that they will see a large return on that investment. While I concede this happens, I believe these individuals are in the minority. What we choose to love and live with says a lot about each of us—who we are and how we live. For this reason, we are asking our member collectors to select what they would like to show. We want your/their choices to make sure we do not slant the exhibition through a single individual’s filter.

One collector has offered to show a series of 13 Dali works that Dali created as illustrations for Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland. The set is delightfully colorful and depicts the chapters of the book. These should be as enchanting to view as the book was to read! We are looking forward to sharing in the joy these pieces will bring to everyone who sees them. Other items that will be exhibited include a piece or pieces that were purchased while traveling. For one of the owners, her work takes them back to that experience, the newness and freedom the trip inspired. In addition it was a new type of work that has inspired her own thinking and creations since. It is those anticipated experiences that prompt us to offer this exhibition. To share these works our members are opening their experiences to others and allowing our viewers to make that journey with them. That communication should be as interesting or thought – provoking as the works themselves.

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

Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage Artist-of-the-Year: Alex Foster
March 21 – May 1, 2022

GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org/visit/galleries/exhibition-schedule/

In celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the 1982 World's Fair, the Museum of East Tennessee History announces the opening of a new, one-of-a-kind exhibition, "You Should've Been There!," in the Rogers-Claussen Feature Gallery from March 19 to October 9, 2022.

The exhibition’s theme is not only a nod to the international exposition’s marketing catchphrase, “You Have Got to Be There! The 1982 World’s Fair!,” but also an acknowledgement that four decades removed, there is a generation of East Tennesseans who were not alive to experience the historic event.

Organized by the East Tennessee Historical Society and the Knox County Public Library, “You Should've Been There!” traces the fair’s development from conception to the pivotal moment when The Wall Street Journal referred to Knoxville as a “scruffy little city” and questioned its ability to host an international event. More than 11,000,000 visitors from around the world were informed and entertained in the various pavilions, exhibitions, and attractions put on by 22 countries and some 50 private organizations. Popular souvenirs were shirts and buttons proclaiming, “The Scruffy Little City Did It!”

The fair’s theme, “Energy Turns the World,” played to the region’s reputation as a technology and science center. For example, it was at the 1982 World’s Fair that users were able to try out a touchscreen for the first time. Elo, a Knoxville-based company, debuted the touchscreen technology, then known as "talk back" computers, in the United States Pavilion. To honor this spirit of innovation, “You Should've Been There!” incorporates engaging touchscreens alongside displays of original fair materials from pickle pins to deely bobbers and everything in between.

To learn more about the exhibition, please visit: https://www.easttnhistory.org/1982worldsfair

"You Should've Been There!" is an official event of the 40th Anniversary of the 1982 World's Fair. To learn more about upcoming commemorative events, please visit: http://www.knoxvilleworldsfair.com.

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

In a year like no other, Arrowmont's 2021-2022 Artists-in-Residents lived and worked together in the intimate environment of shared housing and adjoining studios. Their 11-month residency culminates in a group exhibition, now on display in the Sandra J. Blain Galleries at Arrowmont.

Please join Elizabeth Belz, Horacio Casillas, Kyle Cottier, Naomi David Russo, and Lena Schmid at the closing reception for their exhibition, "Party of Five." The reception is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!
May 13, 2022, 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Sandra J. Blain Galleries
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org/visit/galleries/exhibition-schedule/

RED Gallery is proud to announce the opening of UnNatural History, a photography exhibition by Diane Fox. The show will open on March 4 (First Friday) and run through April 23. It will feature two bodies of work within the larger collection: portraits of taxidermied animals, and photographs of dioramas featuring taxidermied animals in natural history museums.

Diane Fox is an artist whose work speaks to the perpetually dissolving connection of humanity to the natural world. Solo exhibitions of her photographic body of work, UnNatural History, have been shown nationally and internationally including at the Antenna Gallery, New Orleans, LA; Dom Muz Gallery, Torun, Poland; Santa Reparata Gallery, Florence, Italy, and more. In 2017, her work was shown internationally at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France and the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfort, Germany as part of their exhibition “Dioramas.” Fox is a Distinguished Lecturer Emerita in the College of Architecture and Design at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she taught photography and graphic design. Fox has a MFA from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a BFA from Middle Tennessee State University.

Fox was inspired to make what she describes as confrontational animal portraits while in the Uffici looking at historical paintings of people long dead. “I felt that animals should also be honored in their death,” says Fox. What makes them confrontational in nature is their large scale, and the fact that the animals are gazing directly at the viewer. Fox explains, “When something is looking directly at you, you have to engage with it.” While individual portraits in the collection are striking, viewing them all together brings another experience. Fox says that many of the animals look alive, but when viewers see a portrait of an aged taxidermied monkey, they notice cracks in his face. These cracks, or the portrait of a jackalope (a mythological creature) “give it away” that these are all taxidermied animals.

For images of dioramas, Fox was interested in working with layers to confuse the space. None of the photographs are manipulated, or even cropped, and none of them encompass the entire diorama. “I include reflections from other cases, as well as elements meant to remain unseen to confuse the space,” says Fox.

“I want you to approach each piece thinking, ‘That’s beautiful.’ Then, ‘What’s going on?’ Then, ‘Wait, this isn’t right!’” The reflections pull other dioramas into the case, creating layers of imagery and layers of reactions within the viewers. Fox emphasizes that after studying the history of the natural habitat diorama, she has deep respect for people who made these dioramas; she says the art that goes into creating the taxidermy and the painted background is incredible. Ultimately, Fox hopes visitors will walk away from UnNatural History with deeper empathy and consciousness about animals’ lives. www.dianefoxphotography.com

Hours: Fridays 5-9pm, Saturdays 1-5pm and Sundays 1-5pm, and by appointment through the week (until April 23).
RED Gallery, 130 E Jackson Ave, Knoxville. 865-524-0146 or robin@robineaster.com

Charlotte Rollman Artist Statement
All of these paintings are plein-air (painted outside and on-site). You may notice all of the seasons are represented here, as I try to paint all year long. The two largest paintings are from my backyard and all of the work is from East Tennessee. I paint often, and particularly enjoy my weekly meet-up with the Tuesday Painters group. We are a lucky bunch. We mostly share our work, painting ideas, studio tips and discuss art events, and over lunch we share our lives outside of painting. We discuss abstract things like color, contrast, value, reflections and the weather. The wind joins us too and is not usually my friend, but it does chase away the bugs. I like to paint in the early morning light but I am not always the first person to our destination for the day. Sometimes I am distracted driving to our painting destination on Tuesday mornings and see other places I would like to stop and paint, but I don’t because I would miss the others if I did.

Debbie Whelan Artist Statement
I’m a dancer who makes pots. The human body and the clay body both have form and shape, both seek to fill the space with dynamic design, movement and meaning, and the color on the pot is like the music to the dance. The dancer informs the potter, and the potter informs the dancer, culminating in a lovely duet!

Westminister Presbyterian Church, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4 and Sundays. Info: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

Tri-Star Arts invites you to the First Friday reception for "From Wonder To Wonder" feat. Carl E. Moore and David Jon Walker (images 1-2 above) and "The Gallery of the Thieves: Recto / Verso" by Andrew Scott Ross (image 3 above) at the historic Candoro Marble Building, Friday, April 1 from 5:00- 8:00pm. (photos: Bruce Cole)

The Tri-Star Arts gallery and studios are located in the historic Candoro Marble Building, 5 minutes from downtown Knoxville at the corner of Maryville Pike and Candora Avenue. Parking spaces are limited and visitors may park along Candora Avenue as needed.

This exhibition is open to the public regularly from Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 am until 5:00 pm, alongside iconic spaces within the Candoro Marble Building ~ located in the Vestal neighborhood of Knoxville. (photo: Bruce Cole)

Tri-Star Arts at Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Drive, Knoxville, TN 37920. https://tristararts.org/the-gallery

Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation

Drawn from the exceptional and diverse collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation, Global Asias examines the cosmopolitan, playful, and subtly subversive characteristics of contemporary Asian and Asian American art. The exhibition highlights the work of fifteen artists of Asian heritage who draw on a rich array of motifs, techniques, and cultural motivations to construct diverse “Asias” in a modern global context.

Organized by the Palmer Museum of Art in conjunction with the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation, the exhibition is divided into three thematic sections. “Exuberant Forms” features work that has the potential to reshape conventional views of abstract art—its composition, palette, materiality as well as its cultural implications, expanding and complicating the canonical narrative of abstraction. “Moving Stories” brings together powerful prints and mixed-media works that reflect on the experiences of migration, both within Asia and beyond. The artists in this section map their own diasporic trajectories, literally and metaphorically, and the art compels the viewer to move and to respond to the shifting socio-political realities of time and place. “Asias Reinvented” highlights two- and three-dimensional works that transform styles and techniques of traditional Asian arts in alignment with the vibes of the contemporary and the cosmopolitan. Combined, the works in Global Asias suggest the plurality and fluidity of “Asia” as cultural construct and creative practice. The exhibition is guest curated by Chang Tan, Assistant Professor of Art History and Asian Studies at Penn State.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Tuesday-Saturday 10 am-5pm, Sunday 1-5 pm, closed Mondays. Information: 865-525-6101, https://knoxart.org/

Shane Pickett: Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land That I Have Travelled)
January 14 - May 7, 2022

During his lifetime, Shane Pickett (1957–2010) was acclaimed as one of Western Australia’s most significant contemporary Aboriginal artists.

Featuring 29 works from the most radical and significant phase of his career, Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land that I Have Traveled) is the first major exhibition of Pickett’s work in the US. Pickett’s paintings capture the transformations of the country near Perth in the south-west of Australia in ever-changing and innovative ways. Over the course of his three-decade career, Pickett developed a new visual language to represent the cornerstones of the culture of his Nyoongar people: the pathways of ancestors, traditional healing practices and places, and especially the six seasons used by the Nyoongar to divide the year.

Djinong Djina Boodja (Look at the Land that I Have Traveled) shows the developments in the last decade of Pickett’s career, as his work transformed from figurative landscape painting into a ground breaking and expressive form of gestural abstraction. It was during this period that Pickett achieved his greatest acclaim, with his works being exhibited across Australia and acquired by major institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. The 29 works in the exhibition present a snapshot of these experiments, as Pickett explores the complex connections between the earth, creation, and spirituality that are united in the Aboriginal concept of “Dreaming.”

Pickett described his paintings as ‘windows into the Dreaming’, and the strength of his culture is delivered through his work with breathtaking lyrical intensity. His paintings show the persistence and adaptability of Aboriginal ways of seeing the country in the face of colonisation. Shane Pickett’s Nyoongar name, Meeyakba, or ‘soft light of the moon,’ captures the spirit of an artist who set a beacon for those who follow him. One of the great innovators of Australian landscape painting, he is remembered as one of the pre-eminent Aboriginal Australian artists of his time.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-2144

Ahoy, readers! Mayor Glenn Jacobs is inviting you to set sail on our 2022 reading challenge, Oceans of Possibilities, with a goal to read ONE MILLION HOURS! This year, we've broken our million-hour goal into three nautical challenges. You can participate in any one of the challenges, or all three.

Anchors aweigh! Set sail with us. By reading and logging your hours, you'll be part of Read City's quest to be the best-read community in America. It's more than a feel-good slogan. In an effort to support our schools, we are encouraging our children and their families to make reading a top priority. Currently, only 40% of Knox County students are reading on grade level at the end of third grade. Our community can help.

Got a Beanstack tracker app account? It's simple to join the next challenge--just click on Anchors Aweigh.

Don't have a Beanstack account yet? Also simple. With your library card, you can register for a free account and get started logging.

You can also drop by any library and pick up a navigation map with activities or try out our sailor hat craft.

It's 2022 and time for another reading adventure. I'm excited to set sail on our Anchors Aweigh challenge, and I hope you'll join us. When we read together, we're sending a strong message to our community that we value reading. If you can read with a child, that's even better, but all reading counts. It's easy to be a part of Read City. Just download the Beanstack tracker app or drop by any Knox County Public Library location to pick up a tracker map. Earn great prizes. Read and log 45 hours (that's about 20 minutes a day) to earn sea-worthy prizes! https://www.knoxlib.org/calendar-programs/read-city-oceans-possibilities

No BPS will occur Jan 25-29 - please come back Feb 1 for more great music!

The WDVX Blue Plate Special® is a live performance radio show held at noon, with your host Red Hickey, Monday through Thursday at the Knoxville Visitor Center. On Fridays WDVX takes the Blue Plate Special to Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria for “The Big Plate”, then back to the Visitor Center on Saturday with your host Evie Andrus.

It’s always free to join in, so please don’t be shy. Make yourself at home as part of the WDVX family. From blues to bluegrass, country to Celtic, folk to funk, rockabilly to hillbilly, local to international, it all part of the live music experience on the WDVX Blue Plate Special. You’re welcome to bring your lunch.

Just like at your favorite meat n’ three, the WDVX Blue Plate Special® is served up piping hot. This fresh and free daily helping of live music during the lunchtime hour that features performers from all over the world and right here in Knoxville has put WDVX on the map as East Tennessee’s Own community supported radio.

Previous performing artists include Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Avett Brothers, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Jim Lauderdale, Marty Stuart, Nickel Creek, Red Stick Ramblers, Rodney Crowell, String Cheese Incident, The Del McCoury Band, Tim O’Brien, Yonder Mountain String Band, David Grisman, Claire Lynch Band, Brett Dennen, Tommy Emmanuel, Uncle Earl, The Infamous Stringdusters, the Jerry Douglas Band, Joan Osborne, John Oats, Mary Gauthier, Darrell Scott, and many many more! There’s plenty of great music to go around! http://wdvx.com/program/blue-plate-special/

Free 2-hour visitor parking located next door to the Knoxville Visitor Center. One Vision Plaza, 301 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Info: 865-544-1029, http://www.wdvx.com

For the past twelve years, the Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville and the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (McGhee Tyson Airport) have partnered to present a biannual exhibition entitled “Arts in the Airport”. This juried exhibition was developed to allow regional artists to compete and display work in the most visited site in the area. The selected art features contemporary 2- and 3-dimensional artwork.

View and purchase artworks at https://www.knoxalliance.store/product-category/airport

www.knoxalliance.com/arts-in-the-airport