Calendar of Events

Reception on First Friday, May 3, 5-9PM | UT Downtown Gallery

Every day, Knox County Schools art teachers devote their time and energy to cultivating creativity and critical skills in their students. Now in its 15th year at the UT Downtown Gallery, Art Source, an exhibition dedicated to Knox County Schools art educators, has given these teachers an opportunity to nourish and showcase their own artistic talents.

This year’s exhibition was jurored by Ashton Ludden and Andrew Messersmith of Relay Ridge. The show is in partnership with Knox County Schools, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and Jerry’s Artarama.

Award-winning educators will be recognized at the gallery’s May First Friday reception. The gallery will be open from 5-9pm with awards at 6:30pm.

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay Street. Hours: W-F: 11am - 6pm, Sat: 10am - 3p. For more information: ewing@utk.edu | https://downtown.utk.edu

Join us for an evening with Marilyn Layman Mascaro, author of When the Rivers Flowed. In her newest book, Marilyn shares the story of an Ambitious Hillbilly and a Southern Flapper - experiences of Earl and Marie. This documented history covers events such as Knoxville's riot of 1919, the energetic 1920's, and the Great Depression. It does so by recounting the true stories of ordinary Americans who encountered the extraordinary events of their time. It promises to be an enchanting evening. Mark your calendars now for an unforgettable evening!

Local Voices: Author Talks at the Historic Ramsey House is a year-long event that will spotlight a different author each month, providing attendees with a unique opportunity to explore the diverse talents shaping the region's literary landscape. Attendees can expect engaging presentations, discussions, and Q&A sessions with featured authors, providing an enriching experience for writers and book lovers of all ages. Admission to all events is free, and the entire community is invited to join in celebrating the power of storytelling.

Historic Ramsey House, 2614 Thorngrove Pike, Knoxville, TN 37914. Information: 865-546-0745, www.ramseyhouse.org

We are thrilled to host author Melissa Ferguson for a reading of How to Plot a Payback.

This event will take place on April 18th at 6:00 pm at Union Ave Books.
If you plan on attending, please RSVP on our website.
https://www.unionavebooks.com/event/author-event-melissa-ferguson

Union Ave Books, 517 Union Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37902. Information: 865-951-2180, www.unionavebooks.com

Thursday, April 18 at 6:00 p.m. on Zoom

We recently conducted a live-audience slide show about what we’ve learned about standout local appearances by notable female performers, from Lillie Langtry to Sarah Bernhardt, from Ethel Barrymore to Marian Anderson, from Sophie Tucker to Sister Rosetta Tharpe, from Fanny Brice to Helen Hayes, from Ida Cox to Janis Joplin, with some Dolly and Taylor Swift thrown in for fun, using recently discovered advertisements and news articles, discussing where they were in their careers and what we know of their shows here, and the impact they made on Knoxville. We thought this one deserved an encore on Zoom, and we’ll do that on April 18.

Register Here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpceyrqTotGd1udA-1t2cFthCP8xekNt_Q#/registration

Knoxville History Project: 865-300-4559, www.Knoxvillehistoryproject.org

Photoshop for Digital Art

Art Guild Meeting at the Yacht Club top floor 10 AM; Coffee at 9:45

Have you ever wanted to see what Photoshop is all about? Or maybe you’ve tried Photoshop and threw your hands up in the air? Join us to see a wide variety of what Adobe Photoshop has to offer. This high-level overview will show examples from watercolor, oil, and impressionistic painting to professionally retouching photographs and combining digital assets to make a masterpiece — all with an unlimited supply of paint and never having to clean a brush! Future class offerings will be discussed for the Art Guild from Beginning to Intermediate Photoshop, Advanced Photoshop for Artists and Photographers, and Photoshop Fabric and Fashion Design.

Artist Bio: Dan is a member of Professional Photographers of America, Nature First: The Alliance for Responsible Nature Photography, and the Tellico Village Art Guild. Described as “the Van Gogh of Beach Art” Dan’s lifelong passion has developed with decades of travel, family, and nature photography. His skills have been refined with education by leading photographers from National Geographic Magazine and digital editing techniques by leading instructors, built on hours of experience in the darkroom spanning as far back as the 1970s. Sharing the inspiration from the intro of Jimmy Buffett’s One Particular Harbor, “La ora te nature” (Long Live Nature), Dan and his wife, Tracey, support the Sea Turtle Conservancy with their art as sea turtles are one of the leading indicators of the health of our oceans. Dan’s works have been selected for showings in the southeastern US, ranging from his hometown of Knoxville to Tampa with collectors spanning Seattle to San Francisco, and New York to Key West.

www.islandhoppersart.com

PLUS! Dan Has an Upcoming Exhibit!
See an exhibit of more than 40 original works from islands near and far by our April speaker, Dan Podsobinski, at the Rarity Bay gallery on April 28 from 2:30 to 4 PM. The afternoon includes live music inspired by Jimmy Buffet and performed by Trop Rock award winner John McDonald. Tropical hors d'oeuvres and cocktails will be offered. Seating is limited, so please RSVP to Dan: https://www.islandhoppersart.com/

www.tellicoartguild.com

Gallery Exhibit: Maryville College Senior Show, at the Clayton Center for the Arts, Blackberry Farm & William “Ed” Harmon Gallery. Featuring art by Maryville College senior art and design majors. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

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

MFA Thesis Exhibitions - Group 3
In partial fulfillment of their graduation requirements, students pursuing the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree are required to mount a solo exhibition of work, and to defend their work during an oral examination in front of a faculty committee. Due to the number of graduate students enrolled in the UT School of Art, these exhibitions generally take the form of small groups of students presenting concurrent solo exhibitions in the gallery space.

Exhibiting students are Landin Eldridge, Abby Hedley, and Casey Wolhar
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MFA THESIS EXHIBITIONS

April 15 - 22, 2023
Reception: Friday, April 19, 5-7pm
Ewing Gallery of Art + Architecture

Landin Eldridge
Prove It.

Prove It. is an installation of large and small-scale autobiographical drawings centered around the desire to be understood, heard, and loved. I take images and memories that hold significance (A photo of a class pet, a Valentine’s Day card from my mom, a voice recording from a friend) and translate them into ink, gouache, colored pencil, and pen. Certain moments are repeated throughout the room, allowing narrative to peek through dense visual information.

Casey Wolhar
A Held Breath

This installation features a combination of large and small scale videos surrounded by glittering kitsch materials. The exhibition addresses the uncomfortable process of claiming space for yourself by putting the fragmented body on display. The audience is then asked to search for comfort within the presented unease.

Abigail Rose Hedley
Felt

https://art.utk.edu/news-and-events/events-and-exhibitions/

Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Hours: M-T-F 10-5, W-R 10-7:30, Su 1-4. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

Art Exhibit at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37918

Reception Friday, April 12, 2024, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.

Free and open to the public, Gallery hours: 9:30-4:30 Monday through Thursday and 9:00-1:00 Sunday

Pamela Salyer: A View Through the Trees

This series uses mixed media (acrylic, collage, photo transfer) to explore the relationship between bare trees and their surroundings—how a tree, a group of trees, or even just a few branches, can change our perspective on the world around us. Pamela Salyer studied with UK’s Open College of the Arts and was juried in as a member of the Art Gallery in 2017. She has been part of many juried exhibits in the Knoxville area, including the Arts & Culture Alliance National Alliance National Juried Exhibition, Arts in the Airport, and The District Gallery’s “The Big Tiny Show.”

Jack Retterer

Jack Retterer says his goal as an artist is simple: “Use photography to help others experience and understand life more deeply and more completely by making it easier to ‘stop and smell the roses.’” He maximizes the emotional impact in his photography to increase the viewer’s awareness. Retterer is a fine art photographer, teacher and poet. His American Impressionist style photography and large canvas prints have been displayed at the Art Market Gallery, the Arts & Culture Alliance, Arts at the Airport, and many other locations in East Tennessee. He is an active member of both the Professional Photographers of America and the Professional Photographers of East Tennessee.

Featuring a variety of media by local artists.
Reception: Fri Apr 12, 6:30-8 PM with awards 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

Saturdays and Sundays, 12-5 PM, April 6 - 28 (or for appointment call 636-256-6555)

Come talk with the artist and explore examples of his fine art, sculpture, and furniture throughout his gallery home. Mr. Denninger is an internationally known artist, designer, and author. His work is part of the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Open houses are free. http://georgedenninger.com/

At 2109 Manor Road, Knoxville, TN 37920.

Tri-Star Arts is pleased to present the next exhibition in their Main Gallery at the historic Candoro Marble Building. A two-person show, Extended Materiality, featuring recent works by artists Mie Kongo (Evanston, IL) and Althea Murphy-Price (Knoxville, TN) opens Friday, April 5 and will run through Saturday, June 1, 2024. Curator: Brian R. Jobe.

https://www.miekongo.com/
https://www.altheamurphyprice.com/

An opening reception will be held on Friday, April 5, 2024 from 5:00—8:00 pm (artists in attendance). There will be an artist talk by Kongo and Murphy-Price beforehand at 3:30pm. The address is 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920 and admission is always free of charge.

The artists will also appear at an event at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center on Friday, April 5, 2024 from 12:00—1:00 pm. Attendees are welcome to bring their own brown bag lunch. The address is 1927 Dandridge Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37915.

Mie Kongo grew up on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, and now lives and works in Evanston, IL. She creates multidisciplinary works that have been exhibited nationally and internationally. This includes two solo exhibitions at 65Grand in Chicago, IL, a recent two-person Exposure booth represented by 65Grand at EXPO Chicago, and participation in NADA Miami represented by The Landing Gallery in Los Angeles, CA. Her other selected solo and group exhibitions were held at Harper College in Palatine, IL; Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City, MO; Audible Gallery at Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago, IL; Devening Projects + Editions in Chicago, IL; Arts and Literature Laboratory in Madison, WI; and 4th Ward Project Space in Chicago, IL. She completed residencies at Shigaraki Ceramics Cultural Park in Shiga, Japan, and the European Keramic Work Center in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Mie Kongo received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA in Ceramics from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Currently, she serves as an Associate Professor, Adjunct, in the Ceramics Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is a recipient of the Joan Mitchell Fellowship in 2021.

Althea Murphy-Price began her studies in Fine Art at Spelman College before receiving her Master of Arts in Printmaking and Painting from Purdue University, and later studying at the Tyler School of Art, Temple University where she earned her Master of Fine Arts. Murphy-Price maintains an active exhibiting practice. She has exhibited in venues throughout the country and abroad such as the Weston Gallery, Cincinnati, OH; Howard Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD; Wellesley College, Boston, MA; Wade Wilson Art Gallery, Houston, TX; Indiana University Art Museum; The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA; The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC; and the Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN. International exhibits include the International Printmaking Exhibition, Jingdezhen China; the American Youth Printmaking Exhibition, Lui Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China; and Print Resonance, Musashino Art University, Tokyo, Japan. In addition to her exhibition record, she has been an artist-in-residence at the Frank Lloyd Wright School; University of Hawaii, Hilo; the Vermont Studio Center; and the Venice Printmaking Studio. Her writings and work have been featured in such publications as Art Papers Magazine, CAA Reviews, Contemporary Impressions Journal, Art in Print, Printmaking: A Complete Guide to Materials and Process, and Printmakers Today.

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

DUSK BY SHAHNAZ LIGHARI
Project Space, Apr. 5 - Jun. 1, 2024

Tri-Star Arts is pleased to present the next exhibition in their Golden Chain Gallery project space located at the historic Candoro Marble Building. Dusk by Shahnaz Lighari (Nashville, TN) opens Friday, April 5 and will run through Saturday, June 1, 2024, with a thematic focus on the transitional moment between day and night. This show is located within the unique architectural space of a narrow wooden stairwell.

https://shahnazlighari.com/

Shahnaz Lighari is an artist based in Nashville, TN. She is self taught as a painter but attended Watkins College of Art, Design, and Film where she became inspired by art history and film. Incorporating a cinematic time-based approach to 2D media her work embodies the process of creation highlighting the many phases and layers involved in the evolution of each piece. Her work has been featured in publications and has shown in galleries nationwide, especially in the southeast. She has taught painting and printmaking at Monthaven Arts & Cultural Center and recently attended a workshop on Byzantine Iconography and sacred arts.

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