Calendar of Events

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from February 2-24, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, February 2, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Corey James Clifton, Nicholas Horner and Kelsey Roberts.

Drawing upon my training as a glass blower, wood worker, and bicycle mechanic, I combine skills from seemingly disparate disciplines to create multi-media sculptures out of layered wood, glass, bike parts, family heirlooms, and found objects. Through my art, I seek to make a positive environmental impact by upcycling discarded bicycle parts and other items to give them a new purpose and keep them out of landfills. As an avid mountain biker, I spend a lot of time outdoors and draw inspiration from nature. Through my art, I combine my admiration for both the mechanical and natural. In my work, I blend and balance natural and fabricated elements, showing how each has function and beauty both individually and collectively.

Keith Bryant was born near Cleveland, Ohio and began working with soft glass in high school with a focus on bowls, vases, and other vessels. In addition to taking classes at Kent State University, he received training from glass artist Earl James and other artists at the Glass Bubble Project in Cleveland. He expanded his skill set by learning lampworking to create marbles and beads. In 2004, Bryant was drawn to woodworking after members of his family began playing Native American Flutes and joined the Northeast Ohio Native American Flute Circle. Under the tutelage of Billy Crowbeak Faluski, he made handcrafted wooden flutes primarily using North American hardwoods. As he continued to refine the sound of his flutes, he also made increasingly ornate pieces, burning designs into the wood and incorporating glass inlay, sculptural wood elements, found objects, and his own Pyrex glass work. Bryant began training as a motorcycle mechanic in 2007, graduating with honors from the PowerSport Institute in Cleveland a year later. He worked for several years as a motorcycle mechanic before transitioning into working with bicycles and noticed a large amount of waste generated. He began collecting discarded bike components and other materials to see if he could incorporate them into his artwork. He combines his areas of training to create mixed-media sculpture from wood, glass, bike parts, family heirlooms, and found objects. Bryant currently resides in Knoxville and works with local bike shops and carpenters to collect waste materials for his art and keep them out of landfills. Through his artwork, he enjoys showing others how items can be upcycled and repurposed. Instagram @kwbryantart

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Friday, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM; and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at https://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from February 2-24, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, February 2, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Corey James Clifton, Nicholas Horner and Kelsey Roberts.

Erosion and Decay by Stephen Blackwell
The photographs in this show were all shot on film with 35mm or medium-format cameras and explore what one can find at two opposed intersections of time, energy, and matter on Planet Earth, mostly gathered near the two ends of the Appalachian Mountain chain. I’ve long been interested in the decay of plant material, and in everything to do with trees. The “Decay” images in this series are from various leaf-skeletons, found around East Tennessee and perhaps western North Carolina. As skeletons, the leaves are at a point of near-total decay… I became excited by their difference from living leaves—the way they push towards three-dimensionality, the way we can see through them, the way piles of them capture and tangle with first and last rays of sunlight—the same light they previously used for photosynthesis, and the light that produces the silver-emulsion image. Similarly, rock formations at Acadia National Park—the “Erosion” images—represent a frozen moment of nature-in-change; nature is changing so slowly we can barely notice it even across weeks or many months, though as the sunlight hits the rocks at different angles or diffusions, these changes can occur faster than a leaf’s decay. The ages-long process of erosion is what gives us the forms we see in cliffs and boulders and rock-tumbles. I try to explore the way they come to rest in fascinating patterns. The Appalachian Mountains were once massive and then became completely flat and then they rose again. From the perspective of Earth’s lifespan, there is little difference between the decay of leaves and the erosion of rocky shores. They can both make us wonder.

Stephen Blackwell began working in film photography as a child. He is drawn to the discovery of beauty in unexpected places and forms, especially in decay, and he enjoys exploring chance patterns and hidden narratives in the spaces of everyday life (often through street photography). His work has appeared in Knoxville Photo, Arts in the Airport, in an East Tennessee Historical Society exhibition, and in a group show at the Knoxville Community Darkroom’s gallery. A literature professor by day, he also volunteers at the Community Darkroom.

Everything Fades by Rachel Deutmeyer
Rachel Deutmeyer’s series of photographs reflects landscape and life seasons in constant change. Images include quiet details and empty spaces alongside multiple exposures of the exteriors of houses across the Midwest. I am interested in reflections on one’s childhood memories through adult eyes. At the start of this photography project my instinct was to explore the small Midwest town that was my childhood home. Without access to the house, I found the surrounding town and landscape felt foreign. Inspired by Nancy Rexroth’s photography project Iowa, I let impulses of memory guide me… Change is often slow and unnoticed until it suddenly feels permanent and inevitable. Reflecting on this idea, I found beauty in things that were changing, as we all are changing. Everything Fades presents a poetic narrative that references a bygone time in my own life. I enjoy how photographs abstractly tied to my own childhood memories may also address collective ideas of change, home, and loss.

Raised in eastern Iowa, Rachel Deutmeyer graduated with a B.A. in Graphic Design from Ashford University and an M.F.A. in Integrated Visual Arts from Iowa State University. Her artwork has been regionally and nationally exhibited with a recent solo exhibition of Everything Fades at the Dubuque Museum of Art in Dubuque, Iowa. Deutmeyer currently works at Practical Farmers of Iowa in Ames, Iowa as senior video coordinator. https://www.rldeutmeyer.com and Instagram @rachel_deutmeyer

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Friday, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM; and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at https://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from February 2-24, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, February 2, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Corey James Clifton, Nicholas Horner and Kelsey Roberts.

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present its 18th annual National Juried Exhibition, a new exhibition featuring selected works from 37 artists throughout the region. The National Juried Exhibition was developed to provide a forum for artists to compete on a regional scale and display their highest quality work. The exhibition encompasses all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists working in a variety of media such as wood, photography, oil, glass, fiber, paper and more. Over $1,800 in cash awards will be announced at a brief awards ceremony at 5:30 PM on February 2 with remarks from the juror, Sisavanh Phouthavong Houghton.

Exhibiting artists include:
+ Skip Rohde of Mars Hill, NC
+ Ann Harwell of Wendell, NC
+ Jerry Knight and Manuel Marti of Crossville, TN
+ Alan Finch of Jacksboro, TN
+ Brian R. Melton of Jamestown, TN
+ Carla Taylor of Johnson City, TN
+ Timothy Bridges, Jordan Butzine, Gino Castellanos, Julie Clairin, Shannon Ferguson, Anthony TungNing Huang, Merry Koschan, David G. Liles, Victoria May, Tom Owens, Annie Rochelle, Robin Moore Rohwer, Hanna Seggerman, Misty Tippens, Cynthia Tipton, Megan Wolfkill and Vicki Wyrick of Knoxville, TN
+ Susan B. Miller and Judy Kelley Jorden of Lenoir City, TN
+ Katina Kelsey, Kathryn Payne and Lois Anne Trader of Loudon, TN
+ Barbara A. Gamble and Vickie Kallies Lee of Maryville, TN
+ Yvonne Dalschen of Oak Ridge, TN
+ Jane F. Newman of Ooltewah, TN
+ Steve Griffin of Soddy Daisy, TN
+ James A. Anderson of Speedwell, TN
+ Judy Lavoie of Tellico Plains, TN
+ Jan Muir of Vonore, TN

About the juror: Sisavanh Phouthavong Houghton is a Lao American interdisciplinary visual artist and Painting Professor at Middle Tennessee State University. She recently exhibited internationally in Italy and Greece and nationally at The Knoxville Museum of Art and Susquehanna Art Museum. She has been featured in The New Art Examiner, The Next-Door Neighbor, and various podcasts. Permanent collections include the Hunter Museum of American Art and the American Embassy, Paramaribo, Suriname. Houghton earned her BFA at the University of Kansas and an MFA at Southern Illinois University of Carbondale, IL. In 2023, she won Best in Show for the 38th Positive/Negative Exhibition; in 2022, she was awarded a Tri-Star Current Art Warhol Foundation Fund and a MTSU’s 2022 Distinguished Creative and Teacher of the Year Award; in 2020, she was nominated for the Joan Mitchell Foundation Arts Award; in 2019, she received an ArtFields’ Painting Award; and in 2017, she was a Tennessee Arts Individual Artist Fellowship recipient. She is represented by Tinney Contemporary Gallery in Nashville, TN. https://www.sisavanhphouthavong.com

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Friday, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM; and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at https://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.

Hola Hora Latina is proud to present “Amor Latino” showcasing the talent of local artists with a Valentine’s Day theme. The exhibit will be available starting February 2nd from 5 PM to 9PM and will remain at Casa HoLa Gallery for the rest of the month!
https://www.facebook.com/events/905187037991486

HoLa Hora Latina, 100 S. Gay Street, Suite 112, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-335-3358, www.holahoralatina.org

Peaceful Mountains by Deana Fulton
Deana Fulton returns to RED Gallery, February 2, 2024 for First Friday from 5 PM – 8 PM for her show opening “Peaceful Mountains.” She will share her newest work, a series of landscape oil paintings of one of her most favorite places, the beloved Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains. She notes it is one of the most peaceful places she experiences, and finds the days among these Tennessee Mountains to be rejuvenating.

The show will also be filled with the collectors’ favorite, mono-color watercolor illustrations of beautiful floral bouquets just in time to gift for the Valentine’s season.

Please come to RED Gallery to experience Deana’s newest work, she would love seeing each of you!

IG:
@redgallery.knox
@fultondeana

RED Gallery, at 130 E Jackson Ave, Knoxville, TN, features primarily 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. Information: 865-524-0146 or https://www.facebook.com/REDgalleryKNOX/

Blackberry Farm Gallery & William “Ed” Harmon Gallery
Gallery Hours 10AM - 5PM Monday - Friday
Free Admission

Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 East Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville, TN 37804. Information: 865-981-8590, www.ClaytonArtsCenter.com

Artist Carmen Winant’s large-scale collages and installations illuminate the often-invisible experiences of women, as well as feminist strategies for survival, revolt, and self-determination. She explores these themes through objects drawn from and inspired by the archives of Women in Transition (WIT) and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV).

“I am a photographer who no longer makes her own images. My work revisits and recontextualizes the feminist histories that preceded my own, reaching backward as an attempt to understand the space between our lived experiences, and the larger, if nuanced and sometimes contradictory, aims of women’s liberation. As such the found photographs that run throughout my work — integrated into books, installations, billboards, or discrete objects — are not evidence of a history, but in fact its very living residue. These projects, all of which work to unravel foreclosed histories, often take the form of ad hoc archives and pay particular interest to women’s power, pleasure, labor, and self-actualization. Lately I’ve turned towards imagination, optimism, and joy as shared, necessary tools of the artist and the revolutionary.” —Carmen Winant (December 2020)

Content warning: please be advised that this exhibition contains adult content, including depictions and descriptions of domestic violence.

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.

Inspired by Women in Transition's "Clothesline Project", the YWCA worked with their clients to make their own t-shirts, which are on display in the 3rd floor lobby.

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.

Begun in 1947 by C. Kermit Ewing, founder of the University of Tennessee School of Art, the annual student exhibition has become one of the oldest competitions in the country and one of the highlights of the Ewing Gallery’s exhibition season. This competition has been an outlet for UT’s talented students for 77 years, wherein countless works of art of every form have been displayed and applauded by the university and Knoxville community.

Reception Thu Jan 25, 5-7 PM

This exhibition was jurored by Stacey Robinson, Associate Professor of Graphic Design & Design for Responsible Innovation at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Location: The Ewing Gallery of Art + Architecture, 1715 Volunteer Boulevard
Times: M, T, W, F: 10am - 5pm, Thur: 10am - 7:30pm, Sun: 1-4pm
For more information: ewing@utk.edu | https://ewing-gallery.utk.edu

PROJECT SPACE
special reception Jan. 19, 2024
https://tristararts.org/the-gallery/f/one-solitude-speaking

Tri-Star Arts at Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Drive, Knoxville, TN 37920. Hours: Tu-Sa 11-5. Information: https://tristararts.org/visit

Scratchboards and more fine art by Judy Lavoie
Also featuring scratchboards by some of her students.
website: https://judylavoieart.com

Opening reception Jan 14, 2-4 PM

Rarity Bay Art Gallery, Community Activity Center, 150 Rarity Bay Pkwy, Vonore, TN

The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture is excited to announce the special exhibition, Coming into View: Oil Paintings from the Permanent Collection. The exhibition will feature several artworks never before displayed to the public alongside pieces that have been the focus of recent research.

Aligned with the museum’s newly implemented strategic plan, this exhibition underscores the significance of the museum’s ongoing collaboration with students, the university, and external partners. Coming into View explores three key themes—student research, collaboration, and coursework—providing an insider’s perspective on the research efforts conducted behind the scenes on the museum’s permanent collection.

Featuring both beloved “fan favorites” and previously unseen works, the exhibition spotlights paintings central to coursework, internships, and student research projects at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Beyond a mere display of art, Coming into View demonstrates the integral role of students, faculty, and the campus community in deepening the museum’s understanding of its collections.

The exhibition also provides a peek behind the metaphorical museum curtain into the importance of conservation of the museum’s permanent collection. Learn more about the exhibition and stay up to date with exhibition-related programming by visiting https://tiny.utk.edu/ComingIntoView.

McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, 1327 Circle Park Dr on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-2144. Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday 12–4 p.m. https://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu