ROBERT HERNANDEZ | NEVER DREAMT NEVER KNOWN
NOVEMBER 1 – DECEMBER 13, 2025
Never Dreamt Never Known marks the first solo exhibition of paper sculptures by Robert Hernandez. The works present a series of imaginary creatures that emerge through a sustained and cumulative process. Guided by intuition and careful sketching, Hernandez composes hereditary patterns of repeated forms that link the figures together. Their striding postures, multiple arms, and cartoon-like faces evoke both the mechanical and the mythic — esoteric robotic beings assembled from paper, precariously balanced yet alive with forward motion.
The material itself is central. Paper carries its own memory, holding the history of each fold and cut. Its capacity for renewal and transformation makes it an ideal medium for sculpture, allowing these figures to oscillate between fragility and strength.
Click here to learn more about the exhibition and related programming.
Welcome!
The UT Downtown Gallery is a contemporary art gallery, exhibiting professional work through funding and support in-part from The University of Tennessee and generous donations. Financial gifts to the UT Downtown Gallery support the operations, programming, community engagement, and exhibitions of the gallery.
We are located at 106 S. Gay Street in Knoxville, Tennessee next door to the Arts and Cultural Alliance in the Emporium Building.
As part of Knoxville’s First Friday events, the gallery is open from 5-9pm on the first Friday of every month.
All exhibitions and events at the UT Downtown Gallery are free and open to the public.
Planning your visit
There are several free and paid parking options around the UT Downtown Gallery. Street parking on the 100 Block of Gay Street has a two-hour limit, while spaces on the Gay Street Viaduct and surrounding streets have a four-hour time limit for all parking 8am – 8pm. The City of Knoxville utilizes the ParkMobile app for all street parking. Payment can be made downloading the ParkMobile app and scanning the QR code on the sign closest to your parking space.
City garages offer free night and weekend parking with the exception of a $3 flat fee at Market Square Garage on Saturdays from 8 am-6 pm. Daytime garage rates are $1 per hour or $7 per day.
Free parking for the Old City is available at the I-40 West and East lots located off Magnolia Avenue, just a short walk from the UT Downtown Gallery.
