Arts & Culture Alliance opens exhibitions

May 5–31, 2023 @ Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance

The Arts & Culture Alliance presents five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from May 5-26. A free gathering with the artists takes place Friday, May 5, from 5-9 p.m.and features live music by Vance Thompson Quartet inside the Emporium. Most of the works will be for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition by visiting in person or the online shop athttps://www.knoxalliance.store.

Barb Johnson & Susan Miller: Our Walkin the upper gallery
The inspiration for this exhibition came during early morning walks through dew-covered pastures which provide the spiritual experience of nature. Johnson and Miller's friendship developed as they participated in a community of artists called Art Group 21. Since they both live in Lenoir City, they began walking together three times a week which has continued to this day.

On year-round walks which cover 80 acres of farmland, they watch the seasonal changes in weather conditions and vegetation. There is abundant evidence of wildlife in the fields, woods and along the gravel roads. They pass farm animals, plants and trees, new and deteriorating structures, and regularly used or abandoned farm equipment, elements they express in our artworks.

Barb Rybolt Johnson graduated with a teaching degree in art education from Indiana State University. In 2013, after years of teaching, she gave time to creating art, beginning with acrylic painting. Since then, she has been an active member of the Arts & Culture Alliance and Art Group 21. Her paintings have received awards in exhibitions at the Emporium, McGhee Tyson Airport, Oak Ridge Art Centerand the Plateau Creative Arts Center in Fairfield Glade.

Susan B. Miller received her BFA from the University of Tennessee in drawing. She has painted in watercolor since 2010. She is a signature member of the Tennessee Watercolor Society and Art Group 21, and she has received awards in local and national competitions.

A1LabArts: Re-Pair/Re-Connectin the lower gallery
This new exhibition, associated with the state-wide Tennessee Triennial for Contemporary Art, features a group of artists offering a variety of responses to the theme "Re-Pair/Re-Connect." This theme can be interpreted broadly to reference ideas such as ongoing post-pandemic renewal of public interaction and community events; interpersonal relationships and communication; individual renewal of creative vision, values, sense of self, and role in society; and relationships with the environment.

The exhibiting artists are members of A1LabArts, a nonprofit, Knoxville-based arts organization founded in 1995.

Lynda Best: Water Spiritson the North Wall
Lynda Best is an original impressionistic, contemporary artist of nature spirits. She was born in Wichita, Kansas, and has lived all over the southern U.S. When she discovered the clear, clean waters of Tennessee, she knew she had to make it her home. She earned a degree in Arts Education from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and later received an Ed.S. in Leadership while working in the public schools. During that time, she also taught art classes for the Tennessee Arts Commission. Throughout her career as an educator, she always used art to reach children. After teaching 36 years, she retired in May 2014, and has used her time to focus on nature, family, gardening, and her art. Her paintings are a form of meditation as she creates calming images.

She also sculpts in stone when inspiration calls to her. She developed her own style for showing the “frozen moment”: when time stops, we’re a witness to nature, and it fills us with a sense of wonder and awe. Our spirit is found and often rediscovered in nature, and it is this spiritual connection that nourishes and inspires her art. Best captures this “moment” with acrylic in a modern impressionistic style, using entrancing outlines and colors to “freeze” the continual, everchanging movement of nature.

www.LyndaBestArtist.com

https://www.facebook.com/LyndaBestArtist

Allen Monsarrat: I’ve been paintingin the display case
"I am more than a decade into developing my representational painting skills. I have honed my methodology for how I develop a painting by breaking it into manageable steps: first, I choose a subject with personal meaning based on my travels or a subject close to home in East Tennessee. The image must be a strong composition and contain a range of tonal values from darks to lights, which I manage by completing an underpainting using only burnt sienna. I then concentrate on colors and brush application, determining whether to make brush strokes apparent. By slowly edging away from my original tendency toward photorealism, some of my new works have a more painterly feel while still retaining detail as a photograph would.

"Creating a painting is always an exciting journey, as I am never quite sure whether it will be as successful as I have envisioned it in my mind," Monsarrat says.

In college,Monsarrat first studied architecture and then graduated with a BFA concentrating in pottery. His first art career was as a studio potter in Friendsville, Tennessee,for 25 years, followed by a career in decorative wall finishes, faux painting, cabinetry finishing and the occasional mural project. He began working in pastels in 2018 to counter his tendency towards too much realism.

www.monsarratart.com

Tracye Sowders: Melancholy’s Epiphanyin the Atrium
This new exhibition includes watercolor and oil paintings.

"Melancholy’s Epiphanyis about infractions, labels, assumptions.
"It's about a stand.
"It's about her, and all of her almost-epiphanies.
"It's about a fragmented chain of her.
"It's not about then.
"It's not about when.
"It's about now.

"The golden thread of sheer existence that binds us to one another and with the universe pulls me further onward through this exploration of color, light, trickery and enchantment. I am inspired to create pieces that convey freedom of spirit. I paint about the light that settles in our souls and the idea that there is a natural touchstone for all of us as humans," Sowders says.

Tracye Burnett Sowders (b. 1965) is a prolific painter in various media including watercolor, oils, pen and ink, and alcohol inks. She is also a calligrapher, hand quilter and needleworker, illustrator, portrait artist and pianist. She exhibits regularly throughout Knoxville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Nashvilleand parts of New England including Manhattan and Staten Island. Her original watercolors, oils and quilts are in private collections all over the United States, Australia, Canada, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, England and New Zealand. She regularly participates in various festivals and exhibitions across the southeast and New England. Locally, her works may be found at Smoky Mountain Art in Gatlinburg, Knoxville Visitors Center, Tea & Treasures, Knoxville Soap Candle and Gifts, Ijams Nature Center, Alice in Appalachia, Mystical Beginnings, and The Holistic Connection in Knoxville.

https://www.facebook.com/Tracye.Sowders

Instagram@tracyeburnettsowdersartist

The exhibitions are on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, in downtown Knoxville. The Emporium is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m, to 5 p.m., withadditional hours Friday, May 12, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.and Saturdays, May 6 & 13 only, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, seehttps://www.knoxalliance.comor call (865) 523-7543.

Category: Art