Calendar of Events

The classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is really a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed to his former self. But time is running out. If the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity.

Performances are Thu-Sun; tickets at https://knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com/tc-events/beauty-and-the-beast/

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

Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, Free and open to the public
Reception Fri Feb 17, 6-7:30 PM with artists' talks at 6:30 PM

Lisa Kurtz
I have made wall pieces out of clay since way back in graduate school. Before I made pottery, I painted, so I often think of these wall pieces as clay canvases or clay landscapes with texture. I also like to add mixed media to some of my wall pieces, such as driftwood, shells, and other found objects. All my clay wall art is wired on the back or mounted on wood and wired so that it hangs easily - just like a painting would. I also love to make clay wall pouches, which can hold water and be used as wall vases for flowers. I have worked with clay for over 40 years and fell in love with the fluid and impressionable characteristics of this wonderful medium in college. Rocks and water have always inspired me. I love the streams running through the mountains, and I also love the ocean. I am fascinated by the effect that water has on the earth and the calming effect water has on people. The textures and colors in water, sand, sea birds, shells, rocks, and marine creatures inform my work and my glazes. I mix up all my own glazes and am often tweaking them to highlight the textures that I put on my pieces. My goal is to infuse my work with the peaceful feelings that water worn rocks, landscape, and waves give to me and share those feelings with others through my art.

Kate McCullough
I began painting in watercolor about 20 years ago after a 35-year hiatus from art. Initially my studies at Villa Marie College and SUNY College at Buffalo included general design, art history and oil and acrylic painting. When I returned to painting, I decided that watercolor was a medium that I would like to explore. I immediately fell in love with it and I have not looked back. I started with courses with Marcia Goldenstein and Whitney Leland at UT and then moved on to workshops at Arrowmont with Don Lake and Sue Archer, Kanuga with Linda Baker and Don Andrews, Cheap Joe’s with Linda Kemp, three workshops with John Salminen and a couple with Paul Jackson. I presently teach a watercolor class at the Fountain City Art Center. I am the former president of the Knoxville Watercolor Society, a member of the Art Market Gallery in downtown Knoxville, a signature member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society.

Gallery hours: Mon-Thu 9:30-4:30, Sun 9-1.
Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church Gallery, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Hours: Tue-Thu 10 AM - 4 PM. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

Fans of artist Tom Wegrzynowski can see oil paintings from both his “Lucky” series and his “Entertainment” series in a new exhibit at Pellissippi State Community College. “All for One or Whatever …” is the artist’s first exhibition that combines pieces from both his bodies of work, “a visual dialogue that presents new opportunities for finding meaning,” Wegrzynowski said in an artist statement for the show.

The new exhibit is on display through March 2 at the Bagwell Center for Media and Art Gallery, 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays or by special appointment. All exhibits in the Bagwell Gallery are free and open to the public.

A closing reception with the artist is scheduled for 3-4 p.m. Thursday, March 2.

Wegrzynowski is a full-time instructor of Art and Art History at the University of Alabama, where he received his Master of Fine Arts in 2006. He has exhibited his work regionally and nationally and won several awards including the Reese Museum Award in 2022 International FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social & Politically Engaged Art, East Tennessee State University. Wegrzynowski’s exhibit at Pellissippi State includes 19 oil paintings from his “Lucky” series, which explores history, mythology and how mutable these structures are when placed in the service of power, as well as from his “Entertainment” series, which allows Wegrzynowski to paint in a faster, more spontaneous way. “The first Entertainment paintings, or ‘panels’ as I think of them, were each executed in one sitting, sometimes in as little as an hour,” Wegrzynowski explained, as opposed to the works in the “Lucky” series, which could take months or even years to complete. “Most of these images were taken from screen captures of television commercials or movies, creating fragments of meaning. As such, they create opportunities for a more expansive investigation of the space between representation and formal abstraction.”

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 9-5 or by appointment. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

Featuring art by Richard Jolley, Tommie Rush, Andrew Saftel, Margaret Scanlan, Maggie Taylor, Kliszewski Glass, Jurgen Dopatka, and others!

Bennett, 5308 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Hours: M-Sa 10-5:30. Information: 865-584-6791, https://bennetthome.com/

Bob Stevens is the Art Guild’s Featured Artist for February 2023, and will be honored at the Fun and Wine Friday Reception on Friday, February 3 from 5:00 - 7:00 PM at the Plateau Creative Arts Center. The membership special exhibit for February is “Books We Love.” The public is invited to come to this free event and enjoy a glass of wine or non-alcoholic beverage, meet Bob and other artists, and view a wonderful variety of artwork. Light refreshments will also be served.

Originally from Illinois, Bob lived and worked in Atlanta, Georgia as an auditor, and later he went into computer programing and systems design. After retirement, Bob and his wife moved to Sparta, Tennessee to be closer to family. Bob always enjoyed doodling during meetings and his habit developed into drawing. After moving to Tennessee, he was drawing in a waiting room where he met artist, Eric Buechel. Eric invited him to one of his painting classes, and Bob has been painting ever since. Bob’s artwork features a wide variety of painting styles and subject matter, ranging from portraits to abstracts, still lifes to landscapes. He enjoys painting with acrylic, oils, air brush, glass and ink. Bob states, “I just like to put paint on stuff. Canvas, wood, glass, saw blades, ... My wife says I'm like the old lady who puts the hot sauce on everything.”

The artwork of Bob Stevens will be on display along with the members’ gallery artwork exhibit from February 3 through March 2. The Arts Center is open to the public Monday through Saturday during our winter hours which are from 10:00-2:00. All artwork in the gallery and in the Endless Possibilities Shop is available for purchase.

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

Gallery Exhibition

Mud: A Photographic Exhibition of Life in the Secret City, is on display through February 28 in the Imagination Gallery. This exhibition has been provided for display by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.
During WWII, what we know today as Oak Ridge was a quickly built “secret” government town of 70,000 workers. This secret city was blanketed in a thick layer of mud, something that all residents, regardless of their occupation, had to deal with. Most of the photographs in this exhibition were taken by James Edward “Ed” Westcott, a renowned photographer who worked for the U.S. government in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project. The Children’s Museum has added several special Gallery activities for Mud including the Mud Hunt Activity Guide, which will help young visitors take a closer look at the photos, and a voting station so visitors can vote for their favorite Mud photo.

Children's Museum of Oak Ridge, 461 West Outer Drive, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: T-Sat 10-4, Sun 1-4. Information: 865-482-1074, www.childrensmuseumofoakridge.org

Pablo Picasso is credited with saying, “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” That’s not a problem for Sevier County, whose residents for generations have been renowned artists and craftspeople. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts invites the community to celebrate Sevier County artists of all ages in the 21st Sevier County Biennial Juried Exhibition and 2023 Sevier County Youth Exhibition Reception, February 17, 2023, 5:30 – 8:30 pm, free and open to the public.

The Sevier County Biennial is a juried, mixed-media art exhibition presented by Arrowmont to recognize and foster artists in the rich region of Sevier County. Guest juror Kreneshia Whiteside-McGee chose from 178 works delivered by 78 artists, 29 of whom were first-time submitters. The exhibition is on view in Arrowmont’s Sandra J. Blain Galleries in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, January 31 through March 3, 2023.

For the first time, the Sevier County Biennial Juried Exhibition includes a companion exhibit: the 2023 Sevier County Youth Exhibition, showcasing work created by young Sevier County artists, ages 5 – 18. Arrowmont instructor and director of Knoxville Arts & Fine Crafts Center, Kelly Sullivan, is the awards juror for the Youth Exhibition. Awards will be presented to artists in both exhibits during the February 17, 2023 reception.

www.arrowmont.org /21st-sevier-county-biennial-juried-exhibition

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org

JANUARY 30 – MARCH 3, 2023 | RECEPTION: FEBRUARY 17, 2023, 5:30 – 8:30 PM
Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts invites artists 18 and older living or working in Sevier County, TN to submit works for consideration for the 21st Sevier County Juried Biennial. The biennial is a juried, mixed-media art exhibition presented by Arrowmont to recognize and foster artists in the rich region of Sevier County, who are the bedrock of the economy and foundation of our community.

JUROR: KRENESHIA WHITESIDE MCGEE, AKA KREN THE CURATOR
Kreneshia Whiteside-McGee, a Tennessee native, began curating in 2015 as a university senior. She served as chief curator at the Association for Visual Arts and works with numerous artists, galleries, and museums advocating for the arts and fostering culture in communities. Her portfolio includes exhibition development, creative direction/consultation, and art handling throughout the U.S. and abroad.

https://www.arrowmont.org/visit/events/21st-sevier-county-biennial-juried-exhibition/

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, https://www.arrowmont.org

Opening reception will be Sunday, January 29th from 2—4 PM with a gallery talk at 1:30 PM.

Women’s Work series will celebrate sunlight, moonbeams, and light of all types as well as new ideas, truths, and perhaps epiphanies! Light takes many forms and we are asking women in our region to interpret the phrase, “ I see the light!” in a new or well loved piece.

At 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

Tri-Star Arts is pleased to announce the artist roster, curators, and highlight weekend dates for the inaugural Tennessee Triennial for Contemporary Art: RE-PAIR, opening January 27, 2023 and on view through May 7, 2023. The recent changes and movements in the world inform our vision and the galvanizing spirit that centers on the rich history of the arts in Tennessee as a means to engage excellence in contemporary art.

Visual art offers a tool towards a common language fostering dialogue across communities, around the state, the country and internationally. The Tennessee Triennial serves as an experience to help us process this moment and propel us forward. It is a geographically fluid conversation that engages people of all ages and backgrounds.

The Tennessee Triennial has chosen a statewide model that is set apart and unprecedented. Curators from institutions in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga have been invited to respond to the theme of RE-PAIR, authored by Consulting Curator, Dr. María Magdalena Campos-Pons. This horizontal approach allows for each curator to be active in selecting participating artists. The Tennessee Triennial is a collective endeavor that emphasizes Tennessee’s contemporary art community while including national and international perspectives.

The participating venues along with their curators and artists may be found at https://www.tennesseetriennial.org/

KNOXVILLE
Big Ears Festival (Curator: Rachel Milford)
Lonnie Holley
Knoxville Museum of Art (Curators: Kelsie Conley and Stephen Wicks)
Willie Cole
Katie Hargrave & Meredith Laura Lynn
Bessie Harvey
Lonnie Holley
Kahlil Robert Irving
Suzanne Jackson
Mary Laube
Annabeth Marks
Rosemary Mayer
Althea Murphy-Price
Betye Saar
Faith Wilding
Tri-Star Arts (Curator: Brian R. Jobe)
Kenturah Davis
Rubens Ghenov
Hank Willis Thomas

Catron Gallery, R. Jack Fishman Library
Jason Brown is an associate professor of Art at the University of TN, Knoxville. His work explores the impact that extractive industries such as mining, oil and gas have on the ecosystems and watersheds of Appalachian landscapes. Coal mining and mountaintop removal are especially compelling subjects for his sculptures and installations, which challenge viewers to engage in a civic dialogue about individuality, community and place.

Walters State Community College, 500 S. Davy Crockett, Morristown
www.ws.edu