Calendar of Events

RED Gallery announces the opening of Untamed Beauty, a new exhibition of oil paintings and watercolors by Jackie Langford. The show will open at 5 pm on Friday, May 6, 2022 (First Friday) and run through May 27. Work on display will include portraits and landscapes.

When asked what inspires her, Langford says, “It begins with a smile—the smile of a woman whose portrait I am painting, or my own joy when I look at the rugged backcountry, fierce whitewater, and smoke-blue mountains of East Tennessee.” The portraits on display at RED Gallery took shape in the log home Langford shares with her husband, Tom, on a ridge off the Cherohala Skyway, a Scenic Byway that straddles the Tennessee–North Carolina border. Along that ridge, old friends and new—from Atlanta, Clarkesville, Knoxville, and Nashville—have raised cabins and formed close bonds. During the pandemic, Langford says she felt moved to paint the women, from all walks of life, who share her passion for the wilderness.

After years of working in oils and acrylics, Langford expanded into watercolor. As the pandemic continued, masking her friends’ expressions, she says, “I needed to see their smiles.” She sketched, then painted, using background washes to reflect the individual personalities and portray each person’s essence. “I thought of all the challenges they’ve lived through,” says Langford, “yet they still express such joy and effervescence.” Langford says a good portraitist sees into her subjects’ interior landscape. In these women, Langford perceives strength and love of life that support their families and friendships. She captures the women’s natural exuberance, which mirrors the untamed beauty of the surrounding wilderness. As for her landscapes, Langford also works from photographs she and her husband have taken in the southeast and on their travels, from the National Parks to Alaska and Southern Cypress Swamps.

A graduate of Austin Peay State University, Jackie took studio art classes with T. Max Hochstetler, who painted the murals at the Opryland Hotel. She also studied with award-winning portraitist Daniel E. Greene, and learned from the techniques of John Howard Sanden, first recipient of the John Singer Sargent Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her paintings are part of the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library Collection and the Permanent Army Military Art Collection, and are owned by prominent military, political and civic leaders. In 2018 she placed First with a watercolor in the Booth Western Art Museum member fall show in Cartersville, Georgia. Her paintings won First and Second place in the Clarksville, Tennessee 2017 Riverfest art show. Current work can be seen at the Downtown Artists’ Co-op in Clarksville. Jackie is a member of the Portrait Society of America, the Booth Western Art Museum, and the Downtown Artists Co-op of Clarksville.

Starting May 6, Untamed Beauty can be viewed at RED Gallery on Fridays 5-9pm, Saturdays 1-5pm and Sundays 1-5pm, and by appointment through the week, until May 27.

RED Gallery, at 130 E Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN. Info: 865-524-0146 or email robin@robineaster.com

Reception: Friday, May 6, 2022, 5 - 9 p.m.

Come see the many entertaining artistic interpretations of our theme: Wild Life! From 6-8pm, DJ Catty Swamp Puss & Friends
will be playing music & any time they play a song with "Wild" in the title, we all dance in the gallery!

An A1LabArts Members' Show: https://www.a1labarts.com

Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 Broadway St, Knoxville, TN 37917. From May 7 - May 25, BSG is open at various times. Please knock or call to arrange an appointment or to inquire about purchasing artwork. Information: 865-556-8676, www.BroadwayStudiosAndGallery.com and www.facebook.com/broadwaystudiosandgallery/

Reception: Friday, May 6, 5-9pm

This is an exhibition of the work of art teachers and art interns in the Knox County School System. For more than a decade, Art Source, the exhibition dedicated solely to Knox County art educators, has given these same teachers an opportunity to nourish and showcase their own artistic talents.

All UT Downtown Gallery events are free and open to the public. Masking is strongly encouraged. UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sa 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, https://downtown.utk.edu

When Daisy Werthan, an elderly Jewish widow living in Atlanta, crashes her new car into the neighbor's garage, her son, Boolie, forces her to take on a chauffeur. Stubborn and determined to maintain her independence, her relationship with her new African-American driver, Hoke, gets off to a rocky start. But they gradually form a close friendship over the next 25 years that transcends racial prejudices and social conventions.

SUITABLE FOR GENERAL AUDIENCES
Seating is socially distanced. Masks are required for audience members.

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

The public is invited to a special exhibit by the Knoxville Watercolor Society at the Art Center from May 6 to June 1 in addition to art exhibited by the Art Guild’s members. The show opening is May 5, 5:00-7:00 pm at the Art Center, which is always free and open to the public.

Formed in 1963, the Knoxville Watercolor Society has a long history of gathering artists to learn, develop, show and teach this beautiful art form to the community. Their work has been displayed in various venues throughout Tennessee, including Nashville, Morristown, Fountain City, and of course, multiple venues in Knoxville. Several members have exhibited in other watercolor shows as well, consistently winning regional, state and national awards.

Watercolor painting has a fascinating history, with its roots in cave drawings dating back to paleolithic Europe, with color being extracted from plants and accented with the charcoal tips of burnt wood. Upon the development of papyrus (paper), watercolor was used to create exquisite highlighting in manuscripts from early Egypt. For centuries, artists made their own paints and closely guarded their formulas and techniques . The Renaissance period saw a large surge in watercolor art. Mass manufacturing of simple watercolors started in the 1800’s and was often one of the early art forms taught to school children. Many of us can recall the Prang brand sets of watercolors that children coveted. Today, many people still think of watercolor as pastel and soft edged, but it can also be more hard edged and vibrant, eliciting a variety of emotional responses and appealing to a wide range of art appreciators.

Art Guild at Fairfield Glade at the Plateau Creative Arts Center, 451 Lakeview Drive, Fairfield Glade, TN 38558. Hours: M-Sa 9-4. Information: 931-707-7249, www.artguildfairfieldglade.net

Paintings by Michelle Barillaro and Jewelry by Charles Osten

Westminister Presbyterian Church, 6500 S Northshore Dr, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-R 9-4, Fri 9-12. Information: (865) 584-3957 or www.wpcknox.org

For the past thirteen 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 by:

Cosima Aryee, Kate Aubrey, Sally Brogden, Jan Burleson, Gino Castellanos, Elle Colquitt, Barbara Bolton Cornett, Denise Cumming, Yvonne Dalschen, Vincent Drake, Melissa N. Everett, Diana Ferguson, Alan Finch, Elena Ganusova, Carl Gombert, Brian Horais, Anthony TungNing Huang, Kathleen A. Janke, Siobian Jones, Gretchen Kaplan, Anne W. Kinggard, Andreas Koschan, Judy Lavoie, William M. Long, Allison Meriwether, Anders V. Nienstaedt, Tom Owens, Dennis Sabo, Phil Savage, Baxter Stults, Kelli L. Thompson, Chloe Wack, Carl Whitten, Douglas Wielfaert, Marianne Woodside, and Museum of Infinite Outcomes.

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

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

Students and families are invited to join us as we trim the winter’s growth of heavy wool from our flock of sheep. Activities will include sheep shearing, sheep herding, historic demonstrations, live music, animal meet & greet, & more

Friday, April 29 & Friday, May 6 (rescheduled to May 18)
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Limited tickets available. Reserve your spot now!
https://wwwmuseumofappalachiaorg.ticketleap.com/sheep-shearing-days/dates

Group rates available for school groups (public, private, and homeschool).
Reserve your spot by e-mailing Amanda at amandaashton@museumofappalachia.org

Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy., Clinton, TN 37716 (16 miles north of Knoxville at I-75, exit 122, then one mile east). Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org

The play will be performed Thursdays and Fridays at 7 PM, Saturdays at 1 PM and 5 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM.
The show will be directed by KCT Artistic Director, Steve Sherman.

Synopsis: An adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame classic book about an unlikely friendship. The village of Guildermere blames the dragon who lives upon the downs for their dying crops and sour milk. But this dragon is a peace-loving, poetry-spouting fellow who would much prefer a cup of tea to a battle. When Saint George arrives, the dragon and his young friend, Glaston, face quite a challenge indeed.

Knoxville Children's Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-208-3677, www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com

Filled with warm humor and tremendous heart, SWEAT tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. When layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat.

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Lynn Nottage’s SWEAT examines the impact of a national economic shift on a local, tight-knit community in Reading, Pennsylvania. In the year 2000, layoffs and lockouts threaten their factory floor jobs, thrusting them into a bitter fight for survival. Produced across the country to critical and popular acclaim, SWEAT considers the effects of America’s economic decline and deindustrialization alongside a heart-wrenching examination of friendship, race, class, and trust within this community of family and friends.

River & Rail Theatre, 111 State Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-407-0727, www.riverandrailtheatre.com

Free!
Mondays-Fridays, April 25-May 13, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

The Knoxville Museum of Art, in conjunction with the Hunter Museum of American Art in Chattanooga, showcases what two important Tennessee cultural organizations are doing to support and empower women artists. Women Artists: Highlights from the Hunter Museum of American Art is on view at the KMA April 22-July 24, 2022, and Currents: Women Artists from the KMA Collection is on view May 13-August 14, 2022. Both exhibitions pay tribute to contemporary women artists represented in each museum’s respective collections.

Since 2000, the Hunter Museum of American Art has prioritized the acquisition of works by women artists from around the United States, who have long lagged behind their male counterparts when it comes to museum-level recognition. Highlights of the Hunter exhibition include an installation by Lesley Dill featuring floor-to-ceiling banners and hand-embroidered text, a silhouette pop-up book by Kara Walker examining the history of American race relations, a textile by Vadis Turner questioning inherited gender roles, and a mixed media installation by Beverly Semmes inspired by composer John Cage’s minimalist music.

Like the Hunter, the Knoxville Museum of Art has actively sought to acquire outstanding works by women for its collection. The selection on view reflects women’s broad technical and aesthetic range found in contemporary art. A mixed media painting on wooden sections by Alison Moritsugu conveys a monumental landscape, expansive yet incomplete. Nancy Rubins elevates graphite drawing into a large sculptural construction apparently shaped by violent forces. British artist Marilène Oliver constructs provocative portraits of her family in the form of acrylic sheets imprinted with digital medical scans. Patty Chang uses water and mirrors to transform her own image taken in a Belgian church into a complex photographic work fragmented by harsh angles and provocative reflections. In her video Joan of Arc, Alex McQuilkin responds to Maria Falconetti’s memorable lead role in the legendary 1928 French silent film by Carl Dreyer and the film’s themes of adolescent desire, faith, and suffering. These and other selected works call overdue attention to women’s significant role in reshaping the contemporary art landscape.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tu-Sa 10-5, Su 1-5. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org. Admission and parking are free.