Calendar of Events
Friday, February 10, 2023
UT Downtown Gallery: Kay Dartt + Ronda Wright
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
KAY DARTT + RONDA WRIGHT: CREATING ARTIFACTS OF HOME
Receptions: Friday, January 6, 5-9pm
Friday, February 3, 5-9pm
The UT Downtown Gallery is pleased to present a two-person exhibition of work by Kay Dartt and Ronda Wright.
Dartt’s work fluctuates between functional sculpture, speculative design, and embodied hyperobject. The goal of these objects is to challenge our western philosophies of living that have created an imbalance between the natural, artificial and virtual environments we occupy. By synthesizing biomorphic forms, consumer language and parametric design processes, an aesthetic emerges that invites a critical perspective of our environment. At times these objects can humorous, whimsical or enigmatic.
Kay Dartt is an artist whose practice combines sculpture, engineering, education and community outreach. As a Clinical Assistant Professor of Art at Shepherd University, she teaches sculpture courses, engineering courses and manages an interdisciplinary fabrication space called the FASTEnER Lab.
As an artist and activist, Ronda Wright has created the on-going sculptural installation, "Creating Artifacts of Home." Through a series of workshops, participants sculpt small artifacts of home. These workshops started in response to the overwhelming rate of LGBTQ+ homelessness and bullying, the premise of these workshops is that we all have a relation to home; and that iron is an element necessary to sustain life. While sharing experiences, participants sculpt a symbolic artifact that reminds them of home. After being cast in iron, the artifact becomes part of the larger collection of memories that reflect relations of Home. Participants’ artifacts link themselves not as “others” but to others. Wright is the Academic & Professional Development Advisor and Adjunct Assistant Professor for UT's College of Architecture + Design and an alum of UT's School of Art.
The UT Downtown Gallery is a Tennessee Triennial Community Venue. All events are free and open to the public.
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
RED Gallery: Highway Flowers by Summer Small
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
RED Gallery is proud to announce the opening of Highway Flowers, an art exhibition by Summer Small.
The show will open on January 6, 2022, 5:00pm (First Friday) and run through February.
Highway Flowers
And other beautiful things you didn't ask for
Summer Small is a self-taught visual artist from East Tennessee. Her debut show Highway Flowers is her private love letter to modern Appalachia. Through bright color and intense pattern, Summer tells a raw, folksy story about grief, persistence, and ultimately appreciation for those things that are out of our control. Her aim for this show is that it recalls to you a familiar feeling, like a reminder of summertime in the dead of winter. Summer Small, summersmallstudio@gmail.com
RED Gallery, at 130 E Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN, features local and regional artists. The gallery is located in the historic Jackson Atelier building in Knoxville’s Old City. Gallery owner Robin Easter is proud to provide a unique space for Knoxville to experience and enjoy a broad range of visual arts. To learn more about RED Gallery, email robin@robineaster.com.
865-524-0146 | www.robineaster.com
Dogwood Arts: Works by Houston Vandergriff & Derrick Freeman
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Join us at Dogwood Arts for the Opening Reception of "Life to the Fullest" from 5-8PM on Friday, January 6th. Friends for years, Houston and Derrick bonded over their mutual use of art as a vehicle for self-expression and communication. At a young age, Houston was diagnosed with Down syndrome and Derrick with Autism — both artists celebrate their unique talents and now use their art to live life to the fullest. Houston Vandergriff is a Knoxville-based travel photographer and founder of Downs & Towns. Derrick is a local abstract painter and advocate for individuals with autism, you can see more of his work at https://derrickfreemansart.com/.
• Gallery Hours: M-F 10AM-5PM
Dogwood Arts, 123 W. Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-637-4561, www.dogwoodarts.com
Museum of Appalachia: 50% Off Admission Wednesdays
Category: History, heritage, Kids, family and Science, nature
Enjoy 50% Off Admission Every Wednesday in January and February!
Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Hwy, Clinton, TN 37716. Information: 865-494-7680, www.museumofappalachia.org
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts: Story Sticks: Rob Millard-Mendez
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
JERRY DROWN WOOD STUDIO GALLERY | JANUARY 2 – MARCH 3, 2023
Rob Millard-Mendez was born in a New England textile town with an incredible industrial past. From an early age, he was enthralled with mechanics, motion, and the wonders created by practical, no-nonsense makers.
“The primary aim in my work is to illustrate and analyze concepts that I find enthralling. The resulting objects deal on many levels with formal and conceptual issues. In my work, I hope to show an equal blending of art, craft, and the presentation of engaging ideas in intriguing ways. The works are meant to involve the viewer visually and intellectually. My sources include mythology, science, history, and American Folk Art (among others). The objects I make reflect the sensibilities of a person steeped in New England practicality who (for better or worse) ended up learning about things like art history, existentialist philosophy, and post-structuralist theory. Some of my sculptures are based on themes from classical mythology viewed through the lens of contemporary events. I have a strong interest in how mythemes surface and re-surface throughout human history in many varied (but related) guises. Craft is an important aspect of my work. I identify strongly with the idea of the artist as a kind of Daedalean hybrid: artist/artisan/shaman. Visual art, like mythology, has the power to compel us with its resonant imagery. It is my hope that my works will, in some small way, enrich the viewer and make her/him see the world as slightly more tragic or laughable (or possibly both at the same time).”
Rob’s work has been shown in over 500 exhibitions in all fifty states as well as internationally. He has had many solo exhibitions and he has received over 120 awards for his art and his teaching. Rob’s sculptures are in over sixty private and public collections and images of his work have appeared in Sculpture Magazine, American Craft, two Lark Books, Art New England, and many other publications. Rob is a Professor of Art in the Art and Design Department at the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, Indiana. He teaches 3-D Design, Woodworking, and Sculpture. He received an MFA in Sculpture from UMASS Dartmouth. https://www.arrowmont.org/story-sticks/
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts: Devices for Filling a Void - Lauren Kalman
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
JANUARY 2 – MARCH 3, 2023 | GEOFFREY A. WOLPERT GALLERY
Lauren Kalman is a visual artist based in Detroit, whose practice is rooted in contemporary craft, sculpture, video, photography and performance. Through performances using her body, her work investigates constructions of the ideal and the feminine and their impacts on self-image and identity, the politics of craft, and the built environment.
“I use assertive and powerful performances of the female body in relationship to wearable objects, functional objects, and environments. I make objects and then use those objects in performance videos and photographs. My body is the site for these performative interactions. I use a variety of methods in my work including traditionally fabricated metal objects, textiles, beading, and ceramics folded together with installation, 3D printing, computer-controlled objects, performance, photography, and video. Over the years, my work has transitioned from jewelry as the format of my work, to adornment and decoration as a subject of my work. I work with craft materials as a strategic choice, because of their strong tie to the body through their proximity to bodies through jewelry, cutlery, vessels, hygiene implements, and clothing. Devices for Filling a Void, combines a jewelry vocabulary with forms reminiscent of reconstructive surgical devices and body-like growths. Rather than presenting or holding the body in an ideal position, they distort the body through actions that are sometimes grotesque or violent. The objects literally fill the voids of the body, but the forms also imply a psychological filling of emotional or erotic voids. The work points to ideas about women being incomplete or lacking, requiring augmentation by men, objects, dress, makeup and adornment.”
Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Kalman completed her MFA in Art and Technology from the Ohio State University and earned a BFA with a focus in Metals from Massachusetts College of Art. https://www.arrowmont.org/devices_kalman/
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org
Printshop Beer: Explore Knox Bike Rides
Category: Culinary arts, food, Free event and Health, wellness
Year-round, join us Saturdays at 11:00 for our weekly slow ride through different Knoxville neighborhoods as we explore our city via bike. Although distances and routes vary, most rides last for 60-75 minutes (4-8 miles) and potentially include a stop at various landmarks, sites of interest, and even other breweries!
Please note that rides will be cancelled in the event of inclement weather to ensure the safety and comfort of all participants. (If it's raining or snowing, we'll cancel the ride. When the temperature is below about 40 or so at ride time, it's usually too cold for our group to want to ride.) We'll announce any cancellations on our Instagram feed at https://www.instagram.com/printshopbeer/
Arrowmont Gallery in Knoxville: Open Hours
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
The Featured section of the gallery changes every month for First Friday, and the Marketplace works rotate. The Arrowmont Gallery is the first permanent off-campus exhibition space for the School.
110 South Gay Street, Knoxville Tennessee 37902. Current hours: Fri 5-9 PM, Sat-Sun 12-5 PM.
https://www.arrowmont.org/arrowmont-gallery/ or contact Gallery Manager Heather F. Wetzel with questions at hwetzel@arrowmont.org.
Westminister Presbyterian Church: Exhibition by Michael Graham and Pat Clapsaddle
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Painting by Michael Graham and Pottery by Pat Clapsaddle
Westminster 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
Knoxville Museum of Art: Landfall Press: Five Decades of Printmaking
Category: Exhibitions, visual art and Free event
Landfall Press: Five Decades of Printmaking celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of one of the country’s most renowned printers-publishers. Founded in 1970 by Jack Lemon, Landfall Press played a key role in expanding the geography of the American postwar print renaissance. In the late 1950s and 1960s, new printmaking workshops, including Universal Limited Art Editions, Tamarind Lithography Workshop, and Gemini G.E.L., opened on the East and West Coasts. Jack Lemon helped bring this printmaking revival to the Midwest. He learned lithography at the Kansas City Art Institute, then later established and directed lithography workshops there in 1965 and at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1968. He opened Landfall Press in Chicago, effectively creating a new hub for printmaking that attracted artists from around the country.
Landfall Press is known for its outstanding innovation and exacting technical standards. It specializes in lithography but has also produced etchings, woodcuts, books, and multiples that have often redefined what a print can be. As a publisher, Lemon has collaborated with a diverse range of international artists, introducing many of them to the process of printmaking. Landfall operated out of Chicago for thirty-five years and, in 2004, relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where it continues to serve new generations.
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.
Nourish Knoxville's Winter Farmer's Market
Category: Culinary arts, food, Exhibitions, visual art, Festivals, special events, Fine Crafts, Free event and Kids, family
Every Saturday, December 3-17 and January 21 – March 25, 2023*
10 am – 2 pm
* NO WINTER FARMERS’ MARKETS ON 12/24/2022, 12/31/2022, 1/7/2023, OR 1/14/2023
2022 – 2023 Location: Outdoors on historic Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville
Nourish Knoxville’s Winter Farmers’ Market is an open-air farmers’ market located on Market Square in the heart of downtown Knoxville. Everything at the WFM is grown or made by our vendors in the East Tennessee region. Products vary by the seasons and include produce, eggs, honey, herbs, pasture-raised meat, plants, bread, baked goods, salsas, coffee, artisan crafts, and more!
Public restrooms are available on the ground floor of the Market Square Garage.
https://www.nourishknoxville.org/winter-market/
Knoxville Museum of Art: Thorne Rooms + Miniatures
Category: Exhibitions, visual art, Fine Crafts and Free event
DECK THE HALLS... The KMA's Thorne Rooms are all decorated for the holiday season! After Thanksgiving, Knoxville Museum of Art pulls out the tinsel and trimmings to get our collection of Thorne Rooms ready for the most wonderful time of the year! Thank you to East Tennessee miniature artisans and Thorne Room experts Annelle Ferguson and Jolie Gaston for making it all possible. On view through December 30.
The Thorne Rooms were developed in the 1930s and 40s by Narcissa Niblack Thorne, Chicago, IL, who loved dollhouses as a child. After extensive travels in Europe where she collected miniature furniture and accessories, Mrs. Thorne had over two dozen miniature rooms created by cabinetmakers from her own drawings. They were made in a scale of one inch to one foot. She painted and stained woodwork, papered walls, and made textiles for the rooms. Read more: https://knoxart.org/exhibitions/thorne-rooms/
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.