'Vine Street I' by Rachel Deutmeyer
February 2–24, 2024 @ Emporium Center for Arts & Culture
The Arts & Culture Alliance presents five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from Feb. 2-24. A free gathering with the artists takesplace Friday, Feb. 2, from 5-9p.m., and features music by Corey James Clifton, Nicholas Horner and Kelsey Roberts.
National Juried Exhibition of 2024in the upper gallery
The Arts & Culture Alliance presents 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 are announced at a brief awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m.,Feb. 2 with remarks from the juror, Sisavanh Phouthavong Houghton.
Exhibiting artists include:
+ Skip Rohde of Mars Hill, N.C.
+ Ann Harwell of Wendell, N.C.
+ Jerry Knight and Manuel Marti of Crossville, Tenn.
+ Alan Finch of Jacksboro, Tenn.
+ Brian R. Melton of Jamestown, Tenn.
+ Carla Taylor of Johnson City, Tenn.
+ 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, Tenn.
+ Susan B. Miller and Judy Kelley Jorden of Lenoir City, Tenn.
+ Katina Kelsey, Kathryn Payne and Lois Anne Trader of Loudon, Tenn.
+ Barbara A. Gamble and Vickie Kallies Lee of Maryville, Tenn.
+ Yvonne Dalschen of Oak Ridge, Tenn.
+ Jane F. Newman of Ooltewah, Tenn.
+ Steve Griffin of Soddy Daisy, Tenn.
+ James A. Anderson of Speedwell, Tenn.
+ Judy Lavoie of Tellico Plains, Tenn.
+ Jan Muir of Vonore, Tenn.
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 Neighborand 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, Tennessee.https://www.sisavanhphouthavong.com
Recent Works by Stephen Blackwell and Rachel Deutmeyerin the lower gallery
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.
Raised in eastern Iowa, hel 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 works at Practical Farmers of Iowa in Ames, Iowa as senior video coordinator.
https://www.rldeutmeyer.comand Instagram @rachel_deutmeyer
Keith Bryant: The Machinations of Sprockets and Woodin the Atrium
Bryant was born near Cleveland, Ohio, and began working with soft glass in high school with a focus on bowls, vasesand 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
Genna Sellers: Courting Doubton the North wall
Genna Sellers, a Certified Professional Photographer, has been honored with numerous awards, including Tennessee Professional Photographer of the Year, Tennessee Top 10 Photographer of the Year, and many Best of Show and Judges Choice awards. Her images have been included in the International Photographic Competition's prestigious Loan Collection numerable times. She has presented multiple workshops for the American Institute of Architects, Professional Photographers of America, and TennesseeProfessional Photographers Association. She has served on the faculty of Pellissippi State Community College and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Media Technology Department at PSTCC.
Using everyday items such as paper and plastic, my photographs explore the liminal space between what is real, what is simulated, and what is imagined. My work explores the tension between representation and abstraction, hoping to provoke deeper questions about the nature of perceived reality, inviting the viewer to ask if an image is real, surreal, or even a simulation? I strive to create evocative visuals that move my audience into a space of meditation and reflection, one that encourages an understanding of the complexities of reality.
www.gennasellersphotography.com
Kacey Noel Chumley: The Midnight Studiesin the display case
The Midnight Studiesare a series of acrylic and oil paintings done by Kacey Noel Chumley, with the sole purpose of getting better at the craft of painting itself. Mostly done at post-midnight hours from 2021-2023, it shows experimentation with color theory, subject matter, values, and more.
Kacey Noel Chumley is a painter, former tattoo artist, and writer from Knoxville.
https://kaceynoel.comand Instagram @_kaceynoel_
The exhibitions areon display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, Tennessee.The Emporium is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Satruday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop athttps://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, seewww.knoxalliance.comor call (865) 523-7543.
Category: Exhibits