Calendar of Events
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts: Prevailing Winds: Kaleena Stasiak
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
OCTOBER 24 – DECEMBER 16, 2022 | GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY
Whether gentle or destructive, wind has the power to create change. Windsocks, whirligigs, and weathervanes were once vital sources of information, measuring wind direction and speed. Now these formerly functional objects accumulate in antique malls and roadside souvenir shops, their utility relinquished for kitsch and nostalgic value. While these adornments are steeped in history and collective meaning, they are also outward expressions of an individual’s relationship to our past. Domestic scenes, normally relegated to interior spaces, are translated through weatherproof materials like steel and wood and projected outwards into public viewing spaces. The front yard becomes a gallery where the nuances of regional and personal identity are expressed through layers of symbols.
In Prevailing Winds, Kaleena Stasiak continues her exploration into the performative reproduction of formerly functional objects as a method for interpreting history and re-envisioning the future. In a moment of disillusionment with institutional knowledge, by hearkening back to human rituals of survival, these weather predictors point to the cyclical nature of time, and offer hope for the future. For Stasiak, making becomes an act of historical role playing as she invokes the generations of makers who came before her, and translates these objects for a contemporary art context.
Kaleena Stasiak is an interdisciplinary artist who uses an assortment of haptic media to explore collective mythmaking, and its relevance to the present day. Digging through a lexicon of symbols and imagery evoking American colonial times, folk art, and quilts, she reframes the dominant ideologies surrounding early history and domestic labor. Her graphic cyphers denote the power and breadth of traditional women’s work, functional handicraft, and the impulse to create. Decoration and ornamentation become expressions of desire, signifiers of identity, and autobiographical documentation of lives omitted from text-based historical narratives and artistic discourse. Originally from Ontario, Canada, Stasiak holds a BFA in Printmaking from the Ontario College of Art and Design and an MFA in Printmaking & Book Arts from the University of Georgia. Recent shows include Tournament of Lies at Wassaic Project in Wassaic, NY, Ancient Art Objects at Whitespace in Atlanta, GA, and Identity Measures at the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans, LA. In 2017 Stasiak founded the South East Women Wrestlers, a performance troupe based in Athens, GA, that uses the spectacle of wrestling to reframe stereotypes and representations of femininity. She currently teaches Printmaking & Foundations at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia.
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org
Michael Alvis Art Gallery: Exhibition by Mark Wade
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
A solo exhibition of works in a variety of media by Mark Wade of Houston, TX
Opening reception and celebration of the renovated and renamed gallery: Mon Oct 24, 3-5 PM
The Michael Alvis Art Gallery (formerly known as the Omega Gallery) at Carson-Newman University, Warren Art Building, corner of Branner & Ken Sparks Way, Jefferson City, TN 37760. Gallery hours: M-F 8-4. Information: 865-471-4985, www.cn.edu
Pellissippi State: Sheri Fleck Rieth and Tom Lee: Swansong
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
Sheri Fleck Rieth and Tom Lee: Swansong, an exhibition of prints and sculpture
Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 9-5. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts
Pivot Point Gallery: Suzanne Jack
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
We are excited to announce our first Guest Artist Show featuring Knoxville based artist Suzanne Jack. We offered a guest artist show to two winners selected from the annual TN Artist Association Annual Show. In addition to our award, one of her pieces earned "Best in Show"! Her art is worth seeing (and owning)!
Please join us for the Show Opening Thursday, Oct. 20 from 5 - 7pm.
Pivot Point Gallery, 15 Emory Place, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information: 865-248-0050, www.pivotpointgallery.com
Hispanic Film Fest
Category: Film, Free event and History, heritage
The Hispanic Film Fest will be featuring five independent award-winning films in Spanish with English subtitles. The Hispanic Film Fest seeks to enrich the moviegoer experience by presenting UT professors as guest speakers before the screenings. Every Wednesday in October and November, at 6:30pm (Lindsay Young Auditorium 101 Hodges Library). Contact Dr. Betsabé Navarro (bnavarro@utk.edu). FREE ADMISSION. https://mfll.utk.edu/hispanicfilmfestival/
Parking Information
The G17 Garage at 1800 Lake Ave, free parking to the general public beginning at 6pm weekdays (no overnight parking 3am-6am)
The Vol Hall Garage at $1 per ½ hour
Regular street parking in the Fort Sanders area
Hosted by Modern Foreign Languages & Literatures, College of Arts & Sciences
Clayton Center for the Arts: John F. Richardson Art Exhibit and Sale
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
The family of John F. Richardson has generously donated 31 paintings to the Clayton Center for the Arts and Maryville College. Sales of the artwork will benefit the CCA and MC Fine Arts Division,
John Richardson had a long career painting landscapes in many styles and mediums and in many places from Tennessee to Arizona to Washington State. He lived in Tennessee and Illinois. He studied at Vanderbilt University, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the University of Chicago. Exhibition venues included the Pennsylvania Academy, Art Institute of Chicago and Vanderbilt University. Richardson taught at Watkins Institute in Nashville from 1938 to 1942 and from 1949 to 1969 at the University of Illinois in Chicago Circle. Richardson and wife Margaret, moved to Nashville and became active in the local art scene. His paintings have a very distinctive personal style, strongly representing elements of mid to late 20th Century artistic trends and movements.
Paintings may be viewed in the DENSO and La Dolce Vita Galleries Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm and during events.
Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information/tickets: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com
TVUUC: Works by the Knoxville Watercolor Society
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church - Free and open to the public
2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918
Reception Friday, October 14, 6:00 to 7:30 pm.
Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.
Gallery hours: 9:30-4:30 Monday through Thursday and 9:00-1:00 Sunday
In 1963 a group of Knoxville artists was invited by the late Kermit (Buck) Ewing, Head of the University of TN Art Department, to participate in an exhibition of watercolor paintings at the University’s McClung Museum. During the opening reception Mr. Ewing noted the Knoxville area did not have an organization for artists to share the common interest of painting in aqueous media. He suggested that those artists exhibiting in the McClung show could be the nucleus for such an association. Thus, was the formation of the Knoxville Watercolor Society with Laura Bagwell serving as the first President.
The purpose of this organization is to educate the members as well as the community to the understanding of watercolor as a significant art form. Active membership is juried by the members and consists of Knoxville area artists who are currently active in the serious pursuit of aqueous painting. Annually, the organization provides a scholarship for the University of Tennessee student who is majoring in watercolor painting, donates to the University Ewing Gallery and maintains a membership in the Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville. Additionally, grants have been made to the Arts Council of Greater Knoxville, the Knoxville Museum of Art, The Tennessee Resource Center, The Tennessee Art Association High School Scholarship Program.
Fountain City Art Center: Open Show - The Way We Were
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
Featuring all media – including oils, acrylics, watercolors, pastels, drawings, sculpture in any medium, jewelry, collage, printmaking, photography and digital media.
Friday, October 7: Reception will be from 6:30pm – 8:00pm (masks required) with awards announced at 7 PM.
Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tu 9:30-3:30, W-R 9:30-4:30 or by appointment. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com
Oak Ridge Art Center: Open Show
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
Open Show 2022, our annual juried exhibition for all artists in all media, will be October 1 through November 27.
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
Knoxville Jazz Workshops
Category: Classes, workshops, Kids, family and Music
Sat Sep 10 – Nov 19, 10 AM – 1 PM: Occurring on nine Saturdays at Graystone Presbyterian Church, 139 Woodlawn Pike. $200 per student payable in advance. Need based scholarships are available. Led by world-renowned pianist Eric Reed, the workshop’s goal is to inspire, educate and enable the next generation of jazz musicians in East Tennessee by providing a hands-on learning environment focused on the fundamentals of jazz improvisation. Full details including scheduling information, pricing and faculty bios can be found at https://www.knoxjazz.org/workshop. The workshop is open to students in middle and high school.
McClung Museum: The Spirit of Día de los Muertos
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
August 26–December 11, 2022
For the first time in its exhibition history, the McClung Museum is celebrating the deeply rooted traditions and colorful spirit of the Day of the Dead. The Spirit of Día de los Muertos (The Spirit of Day of the Dead) is the museum's first community collaboration exhibit created with guidance from Latino/a/x community members. The exhibition will open to the public on August 26 and be on view through December 11, 2022.
With displays in Spanish and English, The Spirit of Día de los Muertos highlights the rich history of the Mexican celebration that remembers loved ones passed. The exhibition opens with a traditional ofrenda (or altar) installation displaying an array of materials dedicated to deceased friends or family members. Familiar sights include colorful cempazúchitl (marigolds), ofrendas (altars) with food offerings, papel picados (decorative banners), and smartly dressed calaveras (skeletons).
McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-2144
Catron Gallery: A Modern Bee
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
The artistry of quilting is the focus of the fall exhibit at the Catron Art Gallery. The gallery is located inside the R. Jack Fishman Library on the Walters State Morristown Campus.
“The Modern Bee” celebrates the quilts of Emily Doane, Melissa Everett and Michelle Bolt. The quilts were created during a decade of the trio’s friendship, challenge and artistic growth. The artists take a modern approach to the historically significant quilting bee, social gatherings of quilters dating back to the 1800s.
“Each quilt in this room has its own story, and each quilt’s stitches hold grief, rage, heartache, compassion, joy, and beauty in tension,” the artists said in a written statement. “Through their creation, we three women have grown closer over a decade of deep friendship shared creating quilts and honing our artistic perspectives. The techniques used to design and create the quilts are timeless, but the designs are distinctly modern, influenced by improvisation, careful use of negative space, solid colors, and bold graphic statements.”
Artists will be on campus to discuss their work during an artist talk at 1 p.m. Oct. 5 in the Catron Gallery.
The Catron Gallery is open during the library’s regular hours, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Admission is free.
Walters State Community College, 500 South Davy Crockett Parkway Morristown, TN 37813
423-585-2600 or https://www.ws.edu/news/current/art-article.aspx?story=21975