'Finding Water' by Carla Taylor
April 4–26, 2025 @ Emporium Center for Arts & Culture
KNOXVILLE, TN -The Arts & Culture Alliance presents five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, openingFriday, April 4, from 5-9p.m. A free gathering with the exhibiting artists also features live music by Robinella and friends.
No Bigger Than a Breadbox – Biennial Small Works Showin the upper gallery
The Arts & Culture Alliance’s fourth biennial juried exhibition features selected works from 48 artists throughout the region. The exhibition was designed to celebrate the innovation of artists who create work on a small scale (under 12”) and in a broad range of media and styles. Over $1,500 in cash awards are announced at a brief awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m.,Friday, April 4 with remarks from the juror, Julie Lohnes.
Exhibiting artists include:
+ Mary Burk Smith of Wallingford, Conn.
+ Ashley Helton of Cleveland, Ga.
+ JoEl Levy Logiudice of Ashland City, Tenn.
+ Terri Jordan of Clarksville, Tenn.
+ Thomas Neckvatal of Crossville, Tenn.
+ Brent Quarles of Jefferson City, Tenn.
+ Sally Brogden, Jordan Butzine, Raeus Cannon, Heather Casteel, Victor Costantino, Rachel Sevier Dallery, Landin Eldridge, Drew Ellis, Shannon Ferguson, Gordon Fowler, Deana Fulton, J. Leigh Garcia, Karen Hall, Drew Justice, Hannah Jun Langer, Ashton Ludden, Shelley Mangold, Paulina Marchant, Sara Blair McNally, Sonja Oswalt, Amber Purdy, Rebecca Robinson, Robin Rohwer, Adam Rowe, and Chloe I. Wack of Knoxville, Tenn.
+ Steven McQuilkin of Lenoir City, Tenn.
+ Bernard R. Sizemore II and Lois Trader of Loudon, Tenn.
+ Betty Bullen of Luttrell, Tenn.
+ Brooke Holmes of Maryville, Tenn.
+ Yvonne Dalschen, Garrett Durland, Lynn Fisher, and Robert Grassel of Oak Ridge, Tenn.
+ Shana Goethals of Sevierville, Tenn.
+ Carra Artis of Seymour, Tenn.
+ Suzette McCauley of Townsend, Tenn.
About the juror: Julie Lohnes is the School of Art Director of Galleries and Collections at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has over 20 years of experience working with contemporary arts, in not-for-profit, commercialand academic galleries, most recently as Director and Curator of Art Collections and Exhibitions at Union College (2013-2022) and Executive Director of A.I.R. Gallery (2011-2013), the first artist collective for women in the country. She co-authored “Tripping the Black Fantastic at a PWI: or, how Afrofuturist exhibitions in an academic library changed everything,” Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues. She has curated numerous exhibitions, most recently, “Embody” at Union College, which featured contemporary diasporic artists, who employed collage, as a technique to construct identity and/or selfhood within the mode of portraiture or figuration. Julie has participated in many panel discussions, most notably as moderator of “Transnationalism and Women Artists in Diaspora” at the Brooklyn Museum. Lohnes earned her M.F.A. from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, and her B.F.A. from Boston University in painting, with a minor in art history.
"Echoes of Memory" by S. Alexandra Simental and Carla Taylorin the lower gallery
This new collection of 2D works invites viewers to examine the fragmented perspectives of memory. With subtle shifts in color, texture and line, each artist peels back the layered visions of the unseen. "Echoes of Memory" seeks to reflect on the reverberations of emotion and the passages they lead and return to.
S. Alexandra Simental(b. 1994, West Virginia) is a Mexican American painter and multidisciplinary artist. Through the usage of paint, soundand installation, she investigates the intersection of art and psychology. In 2021, Simental earned a BFA in visual art, with a specialized focus on sculpture, from Marshall University. She also completed a minor in psychology to delve deeply into the complexities of the human experience. After discovering the surreal possibilities with paint in her final year of undergraduate study, Simental embarked on an enriching journey to Alfred University and their joint studio facility in Düsseldorf, Germany. There, she completed an MFA in painting in 2023. Currently, Simental serves as a Studio Technician at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts in Gatlinburg. Her artwork has been in a multitude of national and international exhibitions. Notably, her work has displayed in the 13th Annual Best of West Virginia Open Juried Exhibition in Beckley, West Virginia, and Minimum Capacity in Atlanta, Georgia. Overseas, her paintings were displayed in Kunst Jetzt Weltweit in Essen, Germany and in CENSOR/SENSOR in Düsseldorf, Germany. For more information, visitstudio-simental.comor Instagram @s.alexandra.simental
Carla Tayloris a multi-media artist based in Johnson City, Tennessee. Her practice spans printmaking, textiles, ceramics and collage. She has shown in both solo and group exhibitions, regionally and nationally, notable of which include From These Hills: Contemporary Arts in Southern Appalachian Highlands at the William King Museum in Abingdon, Virginia,and Woman’s Work in Woodstock, Illinois. In 2023, Taylorcurated an exhibition titled “Good Grief” featuring 22 artists expressing unique perspectives on loss, which was a part of the Tennessee Triennial. Her work has also been featured in Art Seen Magazine and several editions of the Hand Magazine, a publication dedicated to alternative photographic processes and printmaking techniques. Taylor is currently represented by the Grand Bohemian Gallery in Greenville, South Carolina, and maintains a studio at Atelier 133 in downtown Johnson City. She holds an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and a BS in Psychology from John Brown University. For more information, visitcarlataylorart.comor Instagram @ctaylor.art
Roberta Smashey: Birds and the Beesin the display case
Roberta Smashey is a stained glass artist creating both nature-themed and abstract works using the glass foiling technique developed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. By utilizing hand-made glass sheets of various colors and textures, she produces dynamic depictions of the beauty found in nature. The variations in artisanal glass give a unique feeling of depth and movement with this challenging medium. Using the Tiffany technique coupled with the beauty of glass and a lifelong study of wildlife, Smashey seeks to evoke appreciation of our natural world in all who view her creations. Whenever possible, she adds antique glass repurposed from old church windows and often incorporates at least one feature made from the older glass. In addition to her glass creations, Smashey is a nationally recognized wildlife artist represented in several museum collections and fine art galleries. Besides using traditional acrylic painting methods, she creates many of her art works using a combination of abstract with pointillism which produces a distinctive texture and appearance and enhances certain textures and colors. Using this technique, she has produced a series of paintings that incorporate Braille messages, and all of the pointillism paintings are meant to be touched.
Jack Retterer – POETOGRAPHY; Blending Poetry and Photographyon the North wall
"POETAGRAPHY ... Blending poetry and photography. On the surface, poetry and photography appear to be two very different and unrelated art forms. But, as legitimate arts forms, they have much in common. Both help us explore, communicate and understand the human experience. Both can bring our deepest emotions to the surface. They can also help us recognize how we are all more alike than different. As an artist, poet and photographer, my biggest challenge is maintaining a balance in my Poetagraphy creations so that the poetry is not just a caption nor is the image simply an illustration. Each poem and image must be able to stand on its own, and when presented together, create a new and more complete emotional experience beyond what either can accomplish alone," says Jack Retterer.
Originally from the Chicago area, Jack Retterer was introduced to photography at age 16. Early education came from a combination of trial and error and self-study of photography by Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Yosef Karsh and others. He later took classes at the Chicago School of Photography. Frequent attendance at workshops, photography club seminars and conferences helped further his skills. Before moving to Tennessee, Retterer taught photography at Benedictine University in Naperville, Illinois; currently, he teaches Fine Art Photography at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is active as a teacher and speaker for art and photography groups, and his work has sold and received recognition in numerous Tennessee venues. His present and past professional affiliations and memberships include Professional Photographers of America, Professional Photographer of East Tennessee, Tennessee Artists Association, Arts & Culture Alliance, Art Market Gallery, Art Guild of Fairfield Glade, Tellico Village Art Guild, Foothills Craft Guild and the Tennessee Poetry Society. He has served on the boards of artist and photography associations in both Tennessee and Illinois. For more information, visitjackrettererphotography.com.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley: Seasons of Changein the Atrium
Seasons of Changeembraces the vibrant artwork of young artists from the Youth Arts Initiative Program at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. Through classes and workshops, these young creatives are encouraged to explore and grow in their artistic practice. Featured in the exhibit are a diverse range of works, including fiber arts, ceramics, photography and more. Each piece reflects the theme of change, inviting students to reflect on their personal experiences of transformation.
Over the course of several months, students have honed new skills and built confidence, often working in art forms they are discovering for the first time. We are proud to share the art created by our talented students and celebrate their journey as emerging artists within our community. For more information, visitBoys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley: Seasons of Changein the Atrium
Seasons of Changeembraces the vibrant artwork of young artists from the Youth Arts Initiative Program at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley. Through classes and workshops, these young creatives are encouraged to explore and grow in their artistic practice. Featured in the exhibit are a diverse range of works, including fiber arts, ceramics, photography, and more. Each piece reflects the theme of change, inviting students to reflect on their personal experiences of transformation.
Over the course of several months, students have honed new skills and built confidence, often working in art forms they are discovering for the first time. We are proud to share the art created by thestudents and celebrate their journey as emerging artists within thecommunity. For more information, visitbgctnv.org.
The exhibitions will be on display April 4-26at the Emporium Center, Knoxville, Tennessee.The Emporium is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.; andadditional hours TBA.Most of the works on exhibition arefor sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop atknoxalliance.store. For more information, seeknoxalliance.comor call (865) 523-7543.
Category: Art