The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from August 5-26, 2016. A public reception will take place on Friday, August 5, from 5:00-9:00 p.m. to which the public is invited to meet the artists and view the artwork. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition. The First Friday reception also features Pasion Flamenca from 6:00-6:30 PM and a Jazz Jam with Vance Thompson’s Friends from 7:00-9:00 p.m. in the Black Box. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available, and chocolate fondue will be provided by the Melting Pot of Knoxville.
Tuesday Painters: A Plein Air Show in the downstairs gallery
En plein air, or plein air painting, is a phrase borrowed from the French equivalent meaning “open (in full) air”. Painting plein air is essentially about observing and painting subjects from life outdoors. This practice increased in popularity in the nineteenth century after the invention of tubes for oil paint. Plein air painters can paint in any media and usually paint landscapes. They typically attempt to capture the impression of the atmospheric effects in terms of light and color as these cannot be recorded by a camera. Some painters who paint plein air will always finish what they start outdoors.
The Tuesday Painters are a collective group of artists who regularly paint outdoors in the beautiful foothills of East Tennessee. They gather together on the Tuesday of each week to paint, sketch, critique, share, and support one another while capturing the beauty of East Tennessee on canvas or paper, bringing the outdoors inside through their paintings. This group originated from a small group of painters in Jeremy Doss’s class and then followed Kathie Odom, a classmate, outside to paint plein air. Muriel Fawcett now guides the Tuesday Painters. The group can be seen among numerous painting locations such as along the Little River in Townsend, in the middle of fields in Cades Cove, in beautiful local gardens, and even in Knoxville’s Old City.
This inaugural exhibition includes work by 26 artists: Kay Alexander, Carra Artis, Kate Aubrey, Beverly Burdette, Bill Daniel, Jeremy Doss, Nora Estep, Patricia Fain, Muriel Fawcett, Connie Gaertner, Kim Gale, Suzanne Jack, Inna Nasonova Knox, Carol Livington, Kate McCullough, Sue Moody, Kathie Odom, Joe Parrott, Janice Pybas, Diana Sarkar, Terri Swaggerty, Dan Thurman, Debbie Toney, Carly Urello, Mary Ann Valvoda, and Bob Weir.
Expressions by Terina Gillette in the Balcony gallery
“Expressions” is a combination of abstract expressions and Knoxville urban art scenes. Terina Gillette is a resident of Knoxville. She works in a variety of media such as window painting, chalk art murals, traditional wall murals, working with acrylics, papers, pencils, and face & body painting. She publishes an International art magazine that highlights professional artists and students. The magazine has been sent to Belgium, Italy, Holland, and the UK. Gillette teaches art to local home education students at her private studio as well as summer art camps at the Knoxville Museum of Art. She is a member of numerous associations nationwide and locally that promote and support arts and culture. She does unique and beautiful face painting designs for public and private events almost every weekend. She is currently a psychology student and believes that art is an important venue for healing and enjoying life. Her printed work can be purchased at Visit Knoxville or online at www.TheColoredPalette.com.
Melinda Adams & Marjorie Holbert: The Wonder of Birds in the display case
Melinda Adams is an amateur photographer with a passion for wildlife, architecture, and landscape. As a young girl living on a farm in East Tennessee, she would walk the acres of farmland in search of a great photo. Such a luxury of a camera was unheard of at that time in her life. Eventually, she managed to save money and buy herself a Polaroid camera. She could not take many photos because the film for the camera at that time was so expensive, and the few photos Adams took she cherishes to this day. She has received multiple awards from the Tennessee Valley Fair competitions. Her work has juried into Knoxville Photo and Arts in the Airport exhibitions, and she received a merit award for her work at the International Biscuit Festival.
Marjorie Holbert began woodcarving six years ago by initially carving caricatures. Soon, she found herself interested in carving birds. Holbert’s daughter and son-in-law are passionate birders and would send her pictures of many birds that they would see on their trips. Often, they would ask her if she could identify the birds, which sparked her interest in birds and bird woodcarving. Holbert has won multiple awards at the Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers annual show in Townsend each October. She will be a featured exhibitor at the Foothills Craft Guild’s annual show in November.
A Gathering of Goddesses by Sheryl Sallie on the North Wall
“Goddesses exist everywhere women gather,” says Sheryl Sallie. This exhibition will include works that were inspired by a poem she wrote entitled “Where Have All the Goddesses Gone?” Sallie was born in Knoxville and has a Bachelor’s Degree in education from Knoxville College and a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from The University of Tennessee. She was a teacher in Knoxville City School system and Knox County School system for 35 years. She is a poet who has won several poetry contests, self-published a book of her poems, and competed in several poetry slams in the area. She began painting nine years ago and uses her poems as inspiration for some of her art. Her paintings have previously exhibited at the Fountain City Art Center.
“Because I am a poet, I equate my techniques for writing poems with my techniques for painting,” she says. “As a poet, I use patterns of word placement, punctuation, and line breaks to add substance and depth to my poems. A poet looks at ordinary things in extraordinary ways. Now, as a visual artist, I use acrylic paint, collage, image transfer, found objects, and words from magazines and books to create texture and substance in my artwork.” She prefers to work with mixed media because it allows her to express her ideas through layering, collage, and image transfer. For more information about Sheryl Sallie and her work, please e-mail sjackie09@comcast.net.
Glasslike Surfaces by Yvonne Hosey in the Atrium
For the last two years, Yvonne Hosey has experimented with adapting traditional marbling techniques with glass paint on board. Like most artists, her journey has been a winding one. Discouraged as a young woman from pursuing a career in art, Hosey opted instead for a career in nursing. Marriage and family followed. The creativity refused to stay buried as she became an avid cook, decorator, and collector. Her travels always included trips to art museums and exhibitions. When her son started high school, they moved to a house with a sunny back porch. “One day I discovered a pack of old oil pastels, bought a few sheets of paper, and commandeered the porch,” says Yvonne Hosey. “I haven’t looked back since.”
The exhibitions are on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.
