2004
Sept 11 – Oct 30, 2004
Life in the City: The Art of Joseph Delaney
Like Lloyd Branson, Catherine Wiley, and his brother Beauford Delaney, Joseph Delaney was a Knoxville-born artist who gained international recognition. Inaugurating The University of Tennessee’s Downtown Gallery, Life in the City: The Art of Joseph Delaney highlights some 60 works that demonstrate Joseph’s interest in urban life – parades, public parks, architecture and street scenes.
Nov 6 – Dec 19, 2004
The George & Helen Spelvin Folk Art Collection
Created by Beauvais Lyons, Professor of Art and Director of the Hokes Archives at The University of Tennessee, The George and Helen Spelvin Folk Art Collection presents fictitious contemporary folk art. As the “exhibition curator,” Lyons created all the artworks and designed biographical text panels with photographic portraits of each of the 11 imaginary artists. Included are enamel painted records by Lucas Farley, Arthur Middleton’s portrait paintings of American presidents, velvet paintings of brides by Charlotte Black, Max Pritchard’s hand-painted religious tracts on cereal boxes, Rufus Martinez’s ceramic face jugs, and Lester Coleman Dowdy’s “limberjack” puppets. This irrelevant exhibition emulates folk art, and at the same time, it ironically imitates museum conventions.
2005
Jan 12 – Mar 8, 2005
Gregg Schlanger: Holston River Diaries
Created by Gregg Schlanger, Holston River Diaries is a two-part exhibition that links the communities of Emory, VA and Knoxville, TN – the first being near the headwaters of the Holston River and later being nears its confluence with the French Broad River, thus forming the Tennessee River. The exhibition’s second part continued at Emory & Henry College’s 1912 Gallery.
Mar 11 – Apr 17, 2005
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Walker Evans’ Photographs
Walker Evans’ photographs made for James Agee’s classic work Let Us Now Praise Famous Men served as the culmination of Evan’s talents as well as the realistic portrayal of the conditions of the American tenant Farmer during the 1930’s Depression. Walker Evans’ images revolutionized the standards of documentary photography.
Apr 20 – Apr 27, 2005
MFA Thesis Exhibition: Jennifer Leach, Printmaking
Thesis exhibition by Printmaking MFA Candidate, Jennifer Leach.
Apr 30 – May 6, 2005
Graphic Design Senior Show
Senior Graphic Design Students display their design work and attend the opening to meet and greet potential clients and employers
June 16 – Sept 3, 2005
Through the Lens of Ed Westcott: A Photographic History of World War II’s Secret City
In 1942, the Army Corps of Engineers relocated James Edward Westcott to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and assigned him the task of official photographer for the Manhattan Project – a massive wartime effort to produce the first atomic bomb. As secrecy of the project was paramount, the “atomic” city was fenced, and communication with the outside world was limited. What is more, no cameras were allowed inside the fenced boundaries.
Thus, Westcott became not only the official photographer for the Manhattan Project, but he also became the sole photographer of the social and recreational events of Oak Ridge. It is only through Westcott’s photographs that the visual history of Oak Ridge can be appreciated.
Sept 10 – Nov 5, 2005
Enduring: The Social Conscience of Eleanor Dickinson
Eleanor Dickinson, a native of Knoxville, TN, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee in 1952, becoming one of the department’s first graduates. One year later, she moved to California and began redefining her process of creating traditional figure drawings via strong emotions. Since then, Dickinson has maintained a life-long commitment to the human form and has responded to intense moments of human existence, ranging from the experiences of Pentecostal Southerners, to the ecstasies of lovers, to the trials of the homeless, to the sufferings of AIDS victims.
Nov 12 – Dec 20, 2005
Alternative Typestyles: An Homage to Vernacular Letterforms
Alternative Typestyles features original art by exhibition creator Matt Tullis, including hand-drawn typefaces, unique collected fonts, and wall-mounted sculptures based on the assemblage of typographic artifacts. Individual photographic prints of vintage letterforms and signs are also featured.
2006
Jan 7 – Feb 25, 2006
Mysterious Pleasures: The Art of F. Clark Stewart
Over the past 40 years, the educator F. Clark Stewart has impacted the lives and maturation of countless aspiring young artists at the University of Tennessee, many former students directly credit him for their own success as professional artists and teachers. His contributions as both a dedicated teacher and a cognizant, active member of the university community are immeasurable. The goal of Mysterious Pleasures: The Art of F. Clark Stewart is, however, to celebrate the achievements and work of the artist F. Clark Stewart. The works on exhibition, as with his tenure at the university, span 40 years. As the viewer will soon recognize, Clark never strays far from his primary subject – the human figure- or his primary interest – the human narrative. Art movements, like fashion, have developed and faded with time, but Clark has remained steadfast in his commitment to figurative art and its ability to create mystery and a range of emotional responses.
March 3 – April 1, 2006
Unfiltered: AIGA 50 Books/50 Covers
Since 1924, The American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) has mounted an annual exhibition that recognizes excellence in book design and production. Books are entered in categories that range from trade, reference, juvenile, to university and museum publications, to limited edition and special-format books. The exhibition includes books and book covers designed between Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2004. Esteemed Jurors selected winners from more than 920 entries. Jurors included; Andrew Blauvelt, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, John Fulbrook III, Simon & Schuster, New York, Sara Gillingham, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, Julia Hasting, Phaidon, New York and Cheryl Towler Weese (chair) Studio Blue, Chicago.
Apr 7 – Apr 14, 2006
MFA Thesis Exhibition: “Valuistics: The Making of” by James GreeneThe print Installation is both a display of James Greene’s valuistics as well as a printed history of the word itself. With ”the Making Of,” Greene – a former grocery store clerk and retail employee – reveals his own consumer politics (contradictions and all) by symbolizing and accounting for each of his consumer decisions. The installation is a scale re-creation of Greene’s home, family, and friends printed on pink insulation board and installed in the Downtown Gallery.
Apr 19 – 26, 2006
MFA Thesis Exhibition: Ryan O’Mara
The work consists of large abstract ink drawings and paintings some measuring more than 20 feet long. “Abstraction has the ability to exist in a realm of non-logic, idealism and an absence of a system. In my work I change this theoretical space into a physical image, thereby defining the gray”, says O’Mara.
Apr 28 – May 10, 2006
AGIA Poster Design Show
Three Design Students from UT were included in the American Institute of Graphic Arts National Poster Competition. 30 posters were exhibited from national and international designers.
May 13 – June 3, 2006
Portrait of Self
Portrait of Self is a community arts project of the Knox County after-school program Shade of Development led by artist and educator Diane Hovis. Created by African American children and adults, the drawings, prints and photographs on view will explore each individual’s sense of self. These visual works are interpretations of written responses to questions posed by Hovis and recorded in journals kept by each participant.
June 23 – Aug 4, 2006
Thresholds: Expressions of Art & Spiritual Life
New York critic Eleanor Heartney has curated an exhibition that showcases the diversity of both art media and religious beliefs in the work of over fifty artists from five southern states, including Tennessee. This is a joint exhibition, on view simultaneously in both the Ewing Gallery on the University of Tennessee campus and the Downtown Gallery.
Aug 25 – Oct 11, 2006
Drawings from the Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing, China
30 figure drawings from students at the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing, China. Organized and curated by UTK School of Art Professor, Tom Reising.
Oct 20 – Nov 24, 2006
The Color of Diaspora: Afro-Ecuadorian Images
40 Black & White Photographs of the Afro-Ecuadorian culture. Organized by University of Tennessee History Professor William Dewey
Dec 1 – Dec 22, 2006
Polska Fraba/Polish Iink: Contemporary Printmaking on Poland
An exhibition organized and curated by Beauvais Lyons, which includes 30 prints by Contemporary Artist from Poland working in Printmaking.
2007
Jan 5 – Feb 24, 2007
Reverberating Echoes: The Art of Indian Artist M.R. Renjan
Black & White Ink paintings by Indian Artist M.R. Renjan. Organized and curated by Graduate student Shaurya Kumar
Mar 2 – 31, 2007
Shelter: A Mixed Media Installation
An exhibition organized through the Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University By Tulu Bayer, Xiaoze Xie
Apr 2 – 9, 2007
MFA Thesis Exhibition: Lin Lee
Apr 10 – 17, 2007
MFA Thesis Exhibition: Tea Kim Kasor
Apr 18- 23, 2007
MFA Thesis Exhibition: Shaurya Kumar
May 4 – June 8, 2007
Human Rights Portfolio from South Africa
June 15 – August 3, 2007
Hunt Clark & Deborah McClary
Recent collaborative work by Tennessean sculptures, graduates of the UT school of Art. The mixed media piece consists of multiple video projections on Plexiglas suspended from the ceiling, and a white ceramic life-sized sculpture of a calf being roped around its neck.
Aug 10 – Sept 7, 2007
Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition
This International Traveling exhibition of small sculptures from around the world show how artists have handled the challenges of space and scale dictated by sixe of a shoebox. An invitation only exhibition, this exhibit has attracted a large number of well – known artists from Hawaii, the U.S. mainland, Argentina, Cuba, Australia, Korea, Japan, Chia, Thailand, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, and Mexico.
Sept 14 – Oct 5, 2007
AIGA 365
The 2006 juried selection of the best communications design produced in 2005. 365 is widely recognized as the most discerning statement on design excellence today, extending a legacy that began 90 years ago. By means of competitions, AIGA creates a chronicle of outstanding design solutions, each demonstrating the process of designing, the role of the designer and the value of design.
Oct 12 – Nov 7, 2007
Jean Hess & Jeffrey Morton: Reverie
This two-person exhibition consists of recent works by Knoxville-based painter Jean Hess and Chattanooga based painter Jeffery Morton. Hess’ work addresses dream, recollection, nostalgia and memory with an emphasis on obscure imagery, dissolving texts and marks and natural forms suffused with light. Jeffery Morton explores images of wind, electricity, twilight, humidity, photosynthesis, and pollen juxtaposed against creatures in flight.
Nov 16 – Dec 20, 2007
Lineages
This exhibition of ceramics explores the pathway and influences of the academic ceramicist. UT professors of ceramics, their spouses, and their mentors will all have work on display. Artists included are; Professors Sally Brogden and Frank Martin, and their spouses Todd Johnson and Polly Martin and mentors John and Susanne Stephenson, and Ken Ferguson.
2008
Jan 4 – Feb 1, 2008
Crave
An exhibition initiated by UT visiting artist Pinkney Herbert and organized by Memphis arts Organization Delta Axis. In this exhibition “Crave” these six artists use paint and photgraphs to explore craving, yearning, longing for or hankering after. Their diverse work is unified by an attachment to charged images and obsessive processes that speak to this underlying appetite or “craving.” Artist included in the exhibition are, Joel Carreiro, Betsy Chaffin, Amanda Sparks, Thomas Weaver and Brian Wood.
Fed 15 – Mar 29, 2008
Corapeake
This exhibition showcases an award-winning documentary about the town of Corapeake in North Carolina by Kendall Messick. The exhibit uses oral narratives, black & white photography and artifacts to describe and commemorate the lives led by now-elderly African-American inhabitants of this small rural town. This film has been shown at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Wake Forest University, UVA and many other reputable venues.
April 4 – 19, 2008
MFA Thesis Exhibitions: Crystal Wagner and katherine Nanfro
Masters thesis work by graduating MFA candidates in visual art.
April 24 – 26, 2008
Graphic Design Senior Show
Seniors in UT’s graphic design program display recent work completed for BA candidacy.
May 2 – 28, 2008
Air Box
An exhibition by Korean artist Dong-Yong Lee, 2007-08 UT Artist in Residence
June 2 – 29, 2008
Carl Sublett: Image Tracks
A retrospective view of Carl Sublett’s art by his son, Eric
July 3 – 19, 2008
Objectionable Action
This exhibit represents an art exchange with participants from around the country. It was organized by two University of Tennessee Alumni, Lee Marchalonis and Jessica Meyer, and features other University of Tennessee graduates now residing throughout the United States.
July 25 – Aug 16, 2008
The Beauty of Holiness: The Art of Arnold Schwarzbart
Schwarzbart is a Judaic artist who lives in Knoxville. He has worked for over eighteen years designing and producing ceremonial objects as well as Donor Recognition Walls and decorative wall pieces for Jewish organizations throughout the United States.
Aug 22 – Sept 20, 2008
My Home Town: Images of New York City by Baldwin Lee
Photographic images documenting NYC both pre and post 9/11 by New York native Baldwin Lee. Lee is the recipient of three Guggenheim and NEA grants. Curated by artist and Sam Yates.
Sep 26 – Oct 18, 2008
Global Mapping
Andrea Loefke, a Brooklyn, New York and Leipzig, Germany-based artist creates hierarchies in which events and narratives compete and communicate. The groupings of objects and their placement within a particular space become a journey of discovery.
Future States: Atlas
Recent works by Pennsylvania mixed-media artist Dan Mills. This group of drawings addresses issues of American imperialism and globalization. Curated by artist and Sam Yates.
Oct 24 – Nov 15, 2008
Compassionate Voices: Issues of Animal Rights
Compassionate Voices: The Art of Sue Coe, Maia Dery, Diane Fox, and Jack Ketner
These artists address issues of animal treatment and exploitation.
Nov 21 – Dec 20, 2008
Lyrical Tableaux by Conley Harris
Inspired by his many trips to India, Boston painter Conley Harris pays tribute to the history of Indian paintings while using it to explore questions of composition, figure/ground relationship and other painterly issues., 2008.
2009
January 2 – 31, 2009
American Institute of Graphic Arts
AIGA, the professional association for design, creates an authoritative chronicle of outstanding design solutions, each demonstrating the process of designing and the value of design. AIGA’s suite of competitions is widely recognized as the most discerning statement on design excellence today.
February 6 – 28, 2009
Alicia Henry: The Walk
Damond Howard: Still America’s Greatest Problem
African American artists Alicia Henry, Nashville, TN, and Damon Howard, Orangeburg, SC, examine issues of identity, heritage and gender in American society. Henry, MFA from Yale University and Howard, MFA from the University of Florida, have been nationally recognized for their poignant art.
March 6 – 21, 2009
Beyond Surface: Paintings by Tom Riesing and Allen Cox
Although one an abstractionist and one a realist, Knoxville painters Allen Cox and Tom Riesing focus on the “surface” in this exhibit. Curated by Sam Yates and the artists.
March 25 – April 4, 2009
University of Cincinnati / University of Tennessee Art Exchange
This exhibition will feature new work by graduate students representing all disciplines—2-D, 3-D, and media. The exhibition will be on view concurrently at The University of Tennessee 1010 Gallery.
April 7-12, 2009
MFA Thesis Exhibition: Jessie Van der Laan
On view will be work from Master of Fine Arts candidates.
April 17 – 24, 2009
MFA Thesis Exhibition: Hilary Williams
On view will be work from Master of Fine Arts candidates.
May 1-31, 2009
Art Source 2009
Every day, Knox County art teachers devote their time and energy to cultivating creativity in their students. The Knox County Art Educators’ Exhibition gives these teachers an opportunity to nourish and showcase their own artistic talents.
June 5- July 2, 2009
Japan International Artists Society Exhibition
324 works of art by 305 Society members who create in various media ranging from traditional Japanese calligraphy and ceramics to contemporary landscapes and abstraction is on exhibit here and in the Ewing.
July15 – August 8, 2009
Face It: Contemporary Portraiture
A national juried competition open to artists from all media and backgrounds. Dr. Carl Gombert, Associate Professor of Maryville College was selected as the sole Juror for the exhibition.
Aug 14 – Sept 12, 2009
Michael Aurbach: The Administrator
This exhibition featured the work of noted sculptor Michael Aurbach who serves on the faculty at Vanderbilt University. Curated by Sam Yates.
Sept 18 – Oct 17, 2009
Beyond Surface: Contemporary Ceramics Artists
This exhibition featured the art of eight East Coast ceramicists. The works on view represent the variety of techniques and concepts found in the ceramics field today.
Oct 23 – Nov 28, 2009
Contemporary Taiwanese Artist HoJang Liu
This exhibition featured the photographic work of HoJang Liu, a Taiwanese artist who lives in Taipei.
Dec 4, 2009 – Jan 2, 2010
Intimate Source: The Artist’s Sketchbook
Much of the development for an artwork happens well before the brush meets canvas, the hand meets clay, or the finger meets camera, etc. These preliminary inspirations and concepts go mostly unnoticed and unappreciated. This exhibit brings to light the methods artists employ to inform themselves of the possibilities for their as yet unrealized works. Curated by former Ewing Gallery staff member Timothy Massey, Director of the Tower Fine Arts Gallery at CUNY Brockport.