Dogwood Regional Fine Arts Exhibit

2012 Dogwood Regional Venue technical information

2011-11-30T06:46:00.001-08:00

2012 Emporium Center for the Arts/100 Gay Street:
Site information for large scale work, 3D, and installation work.
In the floor plan of the lower gallery, there are 2 good installation areas: 1. The far end under the windows

2. The exact opposite end, behind "glass wall". This area is actually under the sidewalk, and is enclosed. It is like a zoo enclosure- visitors can't go back there, just look through the glass, and when it rains, it can drip, so only work that can handle moisture works out here. There is lighting.

The daylight filters down through the glass bricks during the day. Spots are placed according to need. The beam is useful for rigging support lines, though nothing that adds any significant stress.

The upper gallery is visible from the lower though open staircase treads and balcony railings. Hanging 3D work can be installed dropping down through either side of the staircase. The horizontal white lines in the photos show where support beams or tension wires can be strung, and the vertical white lines show the drop area. Ideally, hanging work in this area should be fairly lightweight.

The Balcony itself is around 1,800 sq. feet, and has 5 movable 8' x 8' walls that can be configured for just about anything. The front of the Balcony is railings, and looks out into the street though huge windows, one side is partially open to the staircase and lower floor, and the rest is solid wall area except for one entrance door.

Online submittal for the exhibit is located at www.dogwoodarts.com/applications/

Dogwood Regional Fine Art Exhibit: 2011

2011-04-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Dogwood Regional Fine Art exhibit was held this year at Bennett Galleries, Knoxville's finest gallery, housed in a vintage movie theater at 5308 Kingston Pike. Our juror was Virginia Derryberry, chair of the art department at the University of North Carolina/Asheville.

The Regional is greatful for the generous sponsorship of Bennett Galleries & Company, Clayton Bank & Trust, Sylvia Peters, President, Legacy Works, the UT Culinary Institute, and ORNL Federal Credit Union

Out of 417 submissions from 155 artists in 9 states, Derryberry chose 50 pieces from 43 artists from 7 states. They ranged from environmental conceptual sculpture to fresco.

Main entrance to the gallery space. Nashville photographer Laura Young's 12 panel "Me, Myself, and I" is on the entrace wall. the large red fiber sculpture in the background is from South Carolina artist Amanda Ladymon, the two sculpture in the foreground are by Samuel Davis

"Window seat, No Charge for Baggage", by Anne Kinggard, who retired last year from her seat as the chair of the art department at Pellissippi State.

One wall of the 1st gallery area. From left, work by Jeffery Stoner, Julie Jack (on pedistal), Alison Oakes, Robert Sulkin, Ian Haggerty, T. Michael Martin, Melissa G. Johnson, Jason Sabbides, and Bobbie Crews.

Mike Nicholes, Chris McAdoo, David Underwood

Two hand embroidery on found illustrations by Nick DeFord

Scott Palmer, Evamarie Pappas, Cynthia Cusick (foreground), and Gary Oglander

A long view of the back gallery space

Kathy Collier, a Paul Menchhofer raku, Barbara Nerentz-Kelley, Rick Alexander, Sharyn Bachleda

Another Sharyn Bachleda, 2 Nicolas Bells, Richard Whitehead, BarryMcManus. Jerry Spady wood sculpture on the pedistal.

Travis Graves in center, rear, l-r, Lisa Lindamood, Jan Kransberger, Barbara Nerenz-Kelley, Jim Toub, Leslie Nichols, and two Beauvais Lyons lithographs

Beauvais's lithographs again, Margaret Luttrell, Diane Fox, Stephan T. Brayfield, and Roy McCullough

EXHIBIT RECEPTION: APRIL 1st

The reception was well attended in it's new location, with a strong presence from the Museum, University, and area artist and arts community.

A demonstration of "How not to leave your wine glass on a sculpture pedistal"

The reception food for the evening was put on the the University of Tennessee Culinary Institute

Awards:
$2,000. 1st Award: Beauvais Lyons

Female North American Racoon Crow/lithograph

Genesis 6:19/lithograph

$1,000. 2nd Award: Laura Young

"Me, Myself, and I" /photography

$500. 3rd Award: Samuel Davis

"Sport"/ Porcelain and mixed media

$250. Merit Award: Bain Butcher

"Yellow Number 4" /oil on linen

$250. Merit Award: Stan Fronczek

"Box Table #1/bubinga and holly

Random additional work that was hard to see in the gallery shots

Cynthia Cusick, "The Co-Dependant Seeker" /stoneware, porcelain, glaze

David Underwood, "Spruce Tree House, Colorado #3, silver gelatin photograph, mixed media

Alison Oakes, "Shield" oil on porcelain

Jason Sabbides, "Flying Machine 23.5"/intaglio, oil

Jan Kransberger, "Tempt Not"/ kiln cart glass, sterling silver

Leslie Nichols, "Beauty of the Mind"/oil based ink, graphite on paper

Mike Nichols, "Michelle Affresco", "buon" fresco

Robert Sulkin. "Composition #222"/photography

T. Michael Martin, "What Makes Me Me (Self-Portrait)" acrylic, oil, enamel and glitter

Jim Toub, "Lost Cities #2"/pen and ink

An exhibit tour and lecture for the Guild of the Knoxville Museum of Fine Art was given mid-month by exhibit chair Denise Stewart-Sanabria

Bennett Galleries continuing Collectors Lecture Series, by Mary Morris, formally of Marlborough Gallery/NYC, archives manager, and Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, NYC, Director, was also held in the space

Complete list of participating artists

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Rick Alexander
Sharyn Bachleda
Nicolas Bell
Stephen Brayfield
Bain Butcher
Kathy Collier
Bobbi Crews
Cynthia Cusick
Samuel Davis
Nick DeFord
Diane Fox
Stan Fronczek
Travis Graves
Ian Haggerty
Julie Jack
Melissa Johnson
Anne Kinggard
Jan Kransberger
Amanda Ladymon
Lisa Lindamood
Margaret Luttrell
Beauvais Lyons
T. Michael Martin
Chris McAdoo
Erin McClanahan
Roy McCullough
Barry McManus
Paul Menchhofer
Barbara Nerenz-Kelley
Leslie Nichols
Mike Nichols
Alison Oakes
Gary Oglander
Scott Palmer
Evamarie Pappas
Jason Sabbides
Jerry Spady
Jeffrey Stoner
Robert Sulkin
Jim Toub
David Underwood
Richard Whitehead
Laura Young

New Venue for 2011!

2010-09-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

The Dogwood Regional Fine Arts Exhibit has a new home for April, 2011. (If you noticed that Nouveau Classics furniture store moved into our old location at 128 Gay St., you were probably wondering). Our location for the 2011 season will be at Knoxville's most prestigious gallery, Bennett Galleries and Company! Bennett represents many well known Tennessee artists, such as Andrew Saftel, Richard Jolley and Tommy Rush in their location inside a renovated vintage movie theater.
http://www.bennettgalleries.com/

2010 Dogwood Regional Fine Arts Exhibit

2010-05-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

The Dogwood Regional Fine Art Exhibit is held each April in Downtown Knoxville as part of the overall Dogwood Arts Festival. The Regional is a juried exhibit open to artists residing within a 300 mile perimeter of Knoxville. There are few size and media restrictions in the exhibit, which results in a strongly progressive show with a mix of traditional, professional and emergent artists. This year's exhibit had 64 pieces by 39 artists from five states. Our juror was Ruth Grover, director of Cress Gallery at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga.

We started exactly like the year before-in the fabulous street floor of Jimmy and Jo Mason’s loft residence at 128 Gay Street in Downtown Knoxville, TN. We armed ourselves with single and double 8’ x 8’ walls borrowed from the Knoxville Museum of Art, some pre-cut 42” wide plywood end caps, pedestals from both the museum and the Arts and Culture Alliance, and lots of flat white paint. Rip Lydick, Robmat Butler, Roberto Sanabria and myself braced together the island walls that transform the space into an instant gallery.

The opening reception on First Friday, April 2nd had at least 1,000 visitors come through. The usual wine and food laden receptions Knoxville is notorious for held out for most of the night. The crowd was full with city officials, UTK and Pellissippi professors, students, regional artists and art lovers, and tourists visiting the area.

Just before the big crowd hit.

Visitors meander past Amanda Ladymon's "Entrails" and a Lauren Karnitz painting.

Finger tricks?

Dogwood Art's Director, Lisa Duncan (in green) wanders through. Dogwood has multiple openings all on the same First Friday that the officials have to appear at, including the national outdoor sculpture exhibit, Art in Public Places.

Gerry Moll's environmental found object sculpture, "Saved and Drowning" to the left, popular food table, catered by The Lunch Box, to the right.

Ruth Grover, (back to camera) examines "Aquarium" with 1st winner, Jerry Spade (head band).

Coral Grace Turner mixes old media with trendy interpretations with her needlepoint and screen printed pillows, displayed on a couple of plexiglass chairs borrowed from Neuvo Classics.

Artist Chris McAdoo and family.

Lauren Karnitz and family camped out on the gallery floor.

Jorge Gomez del Campo's "Machine About Love, Death, and Dancing" was played with by everyone from children to an enthusiastic group of Physics PHD’s and PHD candidates from UT.

Oh, yes...reception fashion. Sometimes, people coordinate with work-like having hair color the same blue found in Amanda Ladymon's 5 panel painting.....

Or sometimes just wearing your own exhibit.

Professor Beauvais Lyons, (right), head of the UTK printmaking department brought along his department's 4 legged adjunct professor and therapy dog.

Weaver Judy Gaston wears her fringed grocery bag outfit to the reception. Her exhibited work is on the mannequins.

AWARDS

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1st Award: Jerry Spady for both his art furniture pieces

"Aquarium"

"Chest of Drawers"
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2nd Award: April Flanders

"Fast Growing"

(Professor Flanders and Appalachian State student Brittany in process of installing)

cut paper, powdered graphite
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3rd Award: Amanda Ladymon

"Rhizomorphious:Cycles and Entrails 1 & 2"

Acrylic,paper,ink,mixed media on wood panel/Plexiglas, cotton and mixed mediaSculpture

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Honorable Mention: Jorge Gomez del Campo

"A Machine About Love, Death, and Dancing"

Welded bicycle parts, paper

(Jorge and partner Brigid Oesterling testing)

Honorable Mention: Maya Simonson

"How High?"

Watercolor and gouache

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Fast Frames Award: Randy Arnold

"Harmonic Convergence"

pencil

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OTHER WORK IN EXHIBIT: RANDOMLY SELECTED

Untitled 14 From “Cerebral Ashe” series by Jonathan Bagby

photograph

"Vertigo" by Elizabeth A. Porter

Pen on Bristol board

"Looking Up" by Randy L. Purcell

Bees wax,oil,ink image transfer on plywood

"Mensap Stier" by Beauvais Lyons

lithograph

"Lines:Laces" by Robmat Butler

Pine, resin, mylar,graphite from an installation series of 6

"Fetish" by David Marquez

bronze, steel

"And the Rocks Danced" by Viki Quinn

sculpture assemblage

"Holy Matrimony" by Tiffany Dyer

Unraveled wedding dress w/embroidery

detail of "Food for the Thinker" by Deborah Pappas

paper punch holes
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EXHIBIT VIEWS

Judy Gaston's woven art garments, Coral Grace Turner's witty pillows, Gerry Moll's environmental wall scupture.

Randy Arnold's three drawings flow into Maya Simonson's water media drawings. Strong, absorbing narrative work. Simonson's work mesmorized every child that came.

April Flander's two large prints next to Laura Chenicek's hinged door paintings.

Bain Butcher's "Yellow # 3" to the left, Sheila H. Rauen's quilt "Dogwood Spa", Lauren Karnitz's "Rhapsody #2, and Lorri Y. Kelly's "Poseidon".

David Marquez's two bronz and steel sculptures in a front window. Perpetual street construction outside.

Jairo Prado's painting "Waiting", and 2 found object sculptures by Brandon Woods on the pedestals.

Paintings by Ken Withers, Susan Doubleday, Susan Milk Colclough, Eleanor Aldrich, and Randy Purcell.

A Sculpture Assemblage by Viki Quinn

Terry Jordan and Deborah Pappas.

A view from Jairo Prado in the front to April Flander's "Fast Growing" cut paper and powdered graphite installation towards the back.

Photography by Nicolas Bell, Jonathan Bagby, Steve Zigler.

April Flanders, Chris McAdoo

Photography by Bob Conliffe, Faye Burke, and Ken Van Dyne.

Jerry Spady's "Chest of Drawers"

Jorge Gomez del Campo, and two huge photographs of Mt. LeConte in frames sculpted from wood and materials from the site by Robert Batey.
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The last night of the exhibit turned into a political event sponsored by the Arts and Culture Alliance for Tim Burchett, who is running for county mayor. Burchette understands how supporting the arts returns large ammounts of tax revenues to the communities involved, and has always been supportive.

Burchett on the micophone on one side, ACA director Liza Zenni on the other side.

Michael Torano, Knoxville Opera director of marketing and public relations (background)Knoxville Museum of Art curator Stephan Wicks to the right.

David Butler, Director of the Knoxville Museum of Art (left) talks with Tim and Allison Burchett.
Brigid Oesterling, Jorge's partner, is playing with the Machine in the background.

Liza Zenni (left) and Knoxville Symphony conductor Lucas Richman. I don't know a lot of the influential people outside of the arts community that come to these events, but I'm improving.

Cindy Spangler (retired from UTK's Ewing Gallery) left, Adam Alfrey, Beauvais Lyons, right.

Brigid Oesterling again (tallest) talks with bartender, KMA guild member Susan Farris to the right (back to camera).

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List of Participating Artists

Eleanor Aldrich.................................. Knoxville
Randy L. Arnold................................ Knoxville
Jonathan Bagby................................. Knoxville
Robert Batey..................................... Sevierville
Nicholas Bell....................................... Knoxville
Faye Burke......................................... Gatlinburg
Bain Butcher .......................................Knoxville
Robmat Butler................................... Knoxville
Laura Chenicek................................... Nashville
Susan Milk Colclough......................... Walland
Jorge Gomez del Campo.................... Knoxville
Bob Conliffe.......................................... Knoxville
Susan Doubleday................................. Chattanooga
Tiffany Dyer......................................... Hendersonville
April Flanders...................................... Boone, NC
Judy Gaston......................................... Knoxville
Terry Jordan....................................... Clarksville
Lauren Karnitz.................................... Knoxville
Lorri Y. Kelly....................................... Chattanooga
Amanda Ladyman.............................. Columbia, SC
Beauvais Lyons................................... Knoxville
David Marquez................................... Bowling Green, KY
Chris McAdoo..................................... Knoxville
Gerry Moll.......................................... Knoxville
Deborah Pappas................................. Oak Ridge
Elizabeth A. Porter............................ Knoxville
Jairo Prado......................................... Nashville
Randy L. Purcell................................ Mt. Juliet
Viki Quinn.......................................... Roanoke, VA
Sheila H. Rauen................................. Knoxville
Maya Simonson................................. Morristown
Jerry Spady....................................... Oak Ridge
Lynnda Tenpenny............................ Knoxville
Coral Grace Turner.......................... Knoxville
Ken Van Dyne................................... Norris
Ken Withers...................................... Shepherdsville, KY
Lisa Ruttan Wolff............................. Norris
Brandon Woods................................ Mufreesboro
Steve Zigler....................................... Knoxville
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ABOUT OUR 2010 JUROR

Ruth Grover has served as Director and Curator of the Cress Gallery of Art and its Permanent Collection, The University of Tennessee / Chattanooga since 1999 and also as Director and Curator of the UTC John and Diane Marek Visiting Artists Series since 2006. Concentrating on contemporary art and trends, Grover curates 4 to 6 exhibitions per year of work in all media by artists of national and international reputation in the Cress, along with 3 to 5 visiting artist venues associated with those exhibitions. Exhibitions Grover has curated in the Cress have garnered three reviews in national / international arts publications over the past year. At UTC, Grover also serves in a number of ways from working with students to educate and mount exhibitions to serving as a resource for the campus and community. Grover juried the Tennessee Artists and Craftsmen Association Exhibition at St. Andrews, TN, in 2003, and the Creative Arts Guild Festival, Dalton, GA, in 2005. In 2007 she curated the Association of Visual Arts / UNUM “Arts in the Workplace” corporate exhibition featuring 70 works by 35 Chattanooga area artists. in 2008-2009 Grover served as juror of the Four Bridges Art Festival, a national juried venue held each year in Chattanooga, TN. Grover holds a BA Psychology from Ohio University, an M.Ed from the University of Cincinnati, and a BFA Painting from the University of Tennessee/Chattanooga. She maintained a studio practice in painting and photography from 1981 to 1996, and taught foundation studio and art history courses at UTC from 1987-1999. As a curator, Grover is currently a member of the American Association of Museums and the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries.

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Metro Pulse review by Jean Hess

(Metro Pulse somehow missed getting this on their web site-Thanks to Jean for supplying the original unedited file)

2010 Dogwood Regional Juried Exhibit

by Jean Hess

Knoxville celebrates the annual Dogwood Arts Festival with multiple shows that reflect shared interests here in our Mountain South. For example, many exhibiting artists look to the natural world for inspiration. Their work exemplifies our love of animals, gardening, and the out-of-doors. Additionally, artists embrace both art and craft elements of visual creativity, blurring and even crossing the lines arbitrarily drawn between what are actually two qualitative elements of creative excellence. Generations of regional artists have built a strong creative tradition. Those living here today add to that foundation by continually testing non-traditional approaches and materials.

One show, the juried Regional Fine Art Exhibition, surpasses itself every year. That is, the exhibition achieves added depth as experimental paintings, sculptures, prints and installations find a place among more traditional or comfortable works. This has occurred incrementally, and that is most likely why much of what is exhibited still addresses familiar themes of nature and artistic excellence while also embracing the new. This year's First Award winner, "Aquarium," by Jerry Spady, is a surprising and technically superb work in wood that is furniture, sculpture and installation-in-miniature. An airy cabinet on spindly legs contains delicate plants and tiny sea creatures, all carved of wood. The interior is lit so that everything casts interesting shadows. Suspended underneath the cabinet, two translucent hemi-spherical forms, with myriad tentacles of wood hanging from beneath each one, look like jellyfish poised to dart away. There is a light inside each of these domed creatures that shines through tiny holes like stars. Spady's use of electrical lighting and translucent materials, combined with wood, builds upon honored traditions while also moving forward.

Works exploring natural imagery include Lauren Karnitz' painting "Rhapsody #2;" slender, vertical green leaves float in a bright ether of pale blue. The leaves are painterly to the point of appearing slathered while in fact highly controlled. Amanda Ladymon's installation "Rhizomorphious: Cycles and Entrails" includes a riveting, multi-paneled painting, free-standing like an Oriental screen, on which myriad swirling biomorphic forms are partly drawn, partly painted in thin washes. In front of the painting a loosely-attached free-form sculpture of what appear to be entrails hangs from the ceiling, then tumbles and trails across the floor. Ladymon's audacious use of materials ranging from fiberglass and knit fabric to latex make this sculpture appear to pulsate. In April Flanders' wall sculpture "Fast Growing" highly naturalistic trailing ivy, made of cut and stained paper, fills a wall with downward-tumbling vines. The vines hover above a spray-painted "garden" of pale leaf silhouettes at the baseboard line. This highly labor-intensive work is most likely ephemeral; it may not survive beyond this show. Flanders' nod to new trends favoring provisionality and "everyday" materials is nonetheless a traditional naturalistic subject rendered with exactitude.

Many works exemplify the contemporary ends of highly traditional means, and are both artful and well-crafted. Judi Gaston weaves recycled materials like old dress patterns, computer paper and plastic shopping bags to create carefully-constructed garments. Her "Recycle: A Pattern for Life" confronts environmental issues head-on with a recycle symbol on the chest . Coral Grace Turner's impeccably-crafted needlepoint pillow "Discard of Credit Cards" shows a credit card being cut with scissors. Robmat Butler's series "Lines and Laces" combines simple wooden shadow boxes with translucent panes of resin. Delicate, cryptic drawings embedded in the resin, some schematic, others organic, are done in black ink. Beauvais Lyons' impeccable lithographs depict imaginary creatures like the "Eend Muskusrat." He conjures these faux animals to spoof systems of scientific classification, museums and other institutions of authority. He delights us by toying with tradition.

2010 Dogwood Regional Fine Arts ExhibitRebori Building 128 Gay StreetApril 2-30Gallery Hours: Wed. - Sat 10 AM - 5 PM, Sun. the 11th 12-5 p.m. Free

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The Dogwood Regional Fine Arts Exhibit is possible due to the generous support of Jo and Jimmy Mason, ORNL Federal Credit Union, Crown Plaza Hotel, and The Knoxville Museum of Art.
I'd also like to thank the wall building and dismantling team of the 3 BOB's: Robmat Butler, Roberto Sanabria, Robert Lydick, plus Randy Arnold. Also, volunteer gallery sitters Coral Grace Turner, Judy Gaston, Randy Arnold, Gerry Moll, Bob and Donna Conliffe, Ken Van Dyne, Lauren Karnitz, and of course my boss Dogwood Director of Development Lynda Evans who filled in too many cracks to count.

Denise Stewart-Sanabria

Chairperson: Dogwood Regional Fine Art Exhibit

2009 Dogwood Regional Fine Art Exhibit

2009-06-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Dogwood Arts Regional Fine Arts Exhibit ~ Knoxville, TN

http://www.dogwoodarts.com/

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The Dogwood Arts Festival, in its 49th year, transformed downtown Knoxville into a month long springtime celebration this April with a "blue jean to black tie" festival offering something for everyone - dance, film, literary arts, music, theatre and visual arts. The Festival showcased the talented performing and visual artists, our fine art institutions, and the natural beauty of our region.

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The Dogwood Arts Regional Fine Arts Exhibition was developed to showcase and award the finest artists in the region. Artists within a radius of 300 miles of Knoxville may enter. Fine art of all styles and genres from both emerging and established artists are selected for the exhibition by an established juror. Cash awards totaling $4,000 are awarded. Calls to artists begin in late November annually , and may be found at http://dogwoodarts.com/

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The juror for the 2009 exhibit, which was held in the ground floor of Jo and Jimmy Mason’s spectacular loft residence at 128 Gay Street, was Karlota Conteras-Koterbay, director of Slocumb Gallery at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. From a pool of over 400 submissions from 4 different states, she selected 75 pieces (one being a 10-piece installation) from 66 Tennessee and North Carolina artists for the exhibit.

Dogwood Arts Director of Development Lynda Evans (center), and juror Karlota Contreras- Koterbay

First Award winner "The Pace of Our Feet", a 10 piece installation organized by Nashville band Quote

The range of work included a multi-disciplinary project installation developed by the Nashville band Quote. Eight artists produced ten works of narrative art that describe each of the ten songs on the band’s “The Pace of Our Feet” CD. The installation received the First Award of $2,000.

"Caspian Parade" by Casey Pierce from "The Pace of Our Feet"

"Until the Sunrise", by Amanda Ball from "The Pace of Our Feet"

"Repeat" by L.A. Bachman, from "The Pace of Our Feet"

Crystal Wagner received the Second prize of $1,000 for her multi-layer paper and print sculptures, "The Educe ofAesthetic Allure", and "The Butterfly Effect"

Detail of 2nd Award winner Crystal Wagner's "The Educe ofAesthetic Allure"

Crystal Wagner's "The Educe ofAesthetic Allure"

The $500 third award went to Melody Tienmann for “Butter Me”, and “Solitary Dinner”, mixed media sculptures utilizing ceramic, used coffee filters, and dogwood blossoms.

3rd Award winner Melody Tiemann's "Solitary Dinner"

Honorable mentions of $250 each went to Jorge Gomez del Campo for his 24’ x 6’ collage “War Cries”, and to David Underwood for his two composite photographs.

Honorable Mention "War Cries" by Jorge Gomez del Campo

Honorable Mention "Complex Structure" and "Cactus, Window and Doors" by David Underwood

Exhibit co-chair Denise Stewart-Sanabria, Melody Tiemann, Jamie Bennett, John Whitten, and Justin Tam from the "Pace of Our Feet" project, Crystal Wagner, Karlota Contreras-Koterbay, and Jorge Comez del Campo (photo Tinah Utsman)

The exhibit had a private Gala opening Thursday, April 2nd, consisting of the awards ceremony, two floors of catered wine, food, and music, and dancing. The Mason’s entire 20,000 square foot loft was open for touring by the 300 guests in attendance.

The exhibition opened to the public during Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Gallery Crawl. Quote performed live to a heavy stream of more than 1,000 people.

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The exhibit ran for three more successive weeks, Wednesday- Saturday form 10-5. Though work is NOT required to be for sale, most was available for purchase, and sales were strong despite a weak economy.

Gala Evening (photo Tinah Utsman)

artists Robin Surber (back to camera) and Alison Oakes (in

red)

artist John Simms (left) leads the dancing

Knoxville Museum of Art Director David Butler

Lynda Evans with Knoxville mayor Bill Haslam and his wife Crissy (photo Tinah Utsman)

Jorge Gomez del Campo, Brigid Oesterling, Tinah Utsman, and Heather Whiteside

Sharif Harb's hand crafted chocolates from Coffee and Chocolate (photo Tinah Utsman)

Looking at "Steam Punk Anatomy"

Hosts Jo and Jimmy Mason (photo: Tinah Utsman)

front view of exhibit

exhibit side view

back of exhibit space

Randomly selected work from the exhibit:
"Painted nails" and "Self Portrait" by Alison Oakes (oil on porcelain)

"Pink Lady Slippers" by Andrea Wilson (copperplate etching)

"All in the Family", by Meredith Lewis (ceramic), and 3 mixed media snow globes by Robmat Butler

"Photo Booth", by Greg Sand (photography)

"Butter me" by Melody Tiemann (ceramic and dogwood petals), and Still Life" by Robert Conliffe (ceramic)

"Untitled #3" from the Attempting Contact Series, by Jonathan Bagby (photography)

"The State of Affairs" by Jose Robert (oil on canvas)

"Father: An Essential Part of the Landscape", by Laura Chenicek (mixed media and cement)

"Mother Oxygen" by Leslie Whitaker Evans (steel), "Torso" by Robert Conliffe (ceramic), "Crísto Redentor" by John Cole Neuhoff (steel)

"Me" by Michael Murphy (photography)

"Cathedral" by Robert Bruce Scott (mixed media found objects)

"Bird Worth Knowing" by Robin Surber (mixed media)

" Steam Punk Anatomy #1" by Chris Szaton (glass, steel)

"The Three Graces of New Orleans", by Virginia Derryberry (oil on canvas)

"Whatever" by Coral Grace Turner (screen print on canvas)
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Complete listing of participating artists:

Robin Surber
Erin Kramer
Gay Arthur
Randy Purcell
William Kahn
Jorge Gomez del Campo
Andrea Wilson
Melody R. Tiemann
Donna M. Conliffe
Robert G. Conliffe

Quote: L.A. Bachman, Casey Pierce, Kuntel Patel, Amanda Ball, John Whitten, Sara La, Myles Bennett, Julie Lee

Allison C King
Barbara Stokes
Laura Chenicek
Virginia Derryberry
Faye Burke
Ronald BurkeRonald
Bradi Dosdall
David Underwood
Joy Deeann Carson
Robert Bruce Scott
Jose Roberto
Judy Lavoi
Mary Britten Lynch
Greg Sand
Michael Murphy
Lani Asuncion
Sarah Kyle
Elliot Coatney
Laurel Panella
Gordon Fowler
Meredith Lewis
Chris Szaton
Marilyn Avery
Coral Grace Turner
Matt Salley
William Bradford
Bobbie Crews
Alison Oaks
John Cole Neuhoff
Virginia Derryberry
Shirley Brown
Jonathan Bagby
Heather Whiteside
Leslie Whitaker Evans
John Simms
Jessica Bledsoe
Crystal Wagner
Robmat Butler
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Juror’s Talk: Dogwood Regional Fine Art Exhibition
by Karlota Contreras-Koterbay
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Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It is an honor and my pleasure to be part of the Dogwood Arts Festival 2009 Regional Fine Art Exhibition. I would like to congratulate the board of directors and festival staff on its 49th year of celebrating the distinct and outstanding arts in the region. I would like to thank all the artists who have participated, the board members, staff, friends, donors and sponsors who made this event possible, especially the regional fine art’s exhibition Co-Chair Denise Stewart-Sanabria and Dogwood Arts Director of Development Lynda Evans for inviting me to be part of this highly anticipated event.

Early this March, I received the submission packets from Denise. As soon as I opened the files, it was as if I was struck by a burst of visual energy. It felt like looking at various kaleidoscopes at the same time and, for a brief time, I was distracted by the multitude of color, forms, shape and texture, it was wonderful! I love jurying exhibitions! After this euphoria has subsided a little, I took a deep breath knowing the gravity of the task at hand… selecting an elite group of works from more than 400 images submitted to bring forth, to quote Denise, “a cool show”. I hope that I’ve achieved some measure of success with my selections.

It is always difficult to avoid, but inevitably unavoidable, imposing one’s aesthetic judgment on the nature of juried exhibitions. While, perhaps, there might be some objectively verifiable aesthetic standards, to judge a show means, at its very root, to bring a set of subjective inclinations into the decision-making process. How do we justify the act of attributing value judgment? For many years, I have been on the other end of the table, having been an organizer of national juried art competitions for almost a decade in the Philippines and the United States, and I always start with a mission and an establishment of aesthetic criteria. Is this selection for the exhibition merely going to be a buffet, of sorts, of personal likes and dislikes? Or, more productively, is it possible to bring together, and bring out of, from such a wide variety of artistic manifestations, a cohesive vision? And, if so, what do we want to achieve and how are we going to materialize this vision?

As juror, the first step I had to take was to look at my discipline as a curator of contemporary visual art and use that as an anchor. Through the years of art management and working directly with artists, funding agencies, the public and private sectors, I have kept my sanity by upholding a curatorial philosophy that looks at ‘art’ as contextualized forms of communication or as forms of agency constructing individual and communal identities while employing diverse conceptual and aesthetic manipulations. Or, to put it another way, art has always been, for myself, in all of its variety, a product of its time while simultaneously a means of shaping its time; art is not merely a means of creating visual pleasure, but a powerful means of acting in the world.

For the Dogwood Regional Fine Art Festival Exhibition, 3 criteria guided me in the selection process in the hope of making a cohesive narrative out of the diverse styles, subject matter and technical prowess that are, indeed, rich and varied. Knowing, of course, that I could not include all work, I was hoping to achieve a representation of works that is consistent with the festival’s aims of celebrating the excellence and vitality of the arts of East Tennessee and the surrounding region. As part of this process, it was a conscious decision to select at least two of each artist’s work to encourage a more in-depth look rather than a mere glimpse for each artistic contribution.

The first of the three main aesthetic criteria that I have employed focused mainly on the successful union of concept and execution, finding a balance between the idea and technique resulting in a art object that is fundamentally true to its specific manifestation. As curator, it is paramount that I see masterful handling of media which executes an effort to visualize a conceptual reality that is often complex and profound; looking at art as forms of agency, the works I selected demonstrate the element of being visual narratives, as constructed forms that delve into the complex nature of social relations and identity, exploring the sense of place, reclaiming history and memory, and it is only in manifestation of the fullest capabilities of the specific medium that such efforts can be both admired as well as effective. What this means, in other words, is that, for myself, each specific example of a type of art (whether it be a painting, sculpture, photograph, et. cetera) brings its own set of problems and solutions, and many of the works herein display an acute awareness of the potential involved in the particularities of the individual type.

The second criteria is related to the audacity in conceptualization, giving merit to the experimental pursuit that is self-aware of the traditions of art history with a conscious effort either to refer to it as starting point or to subvert it. Again, to put it another way, I want to see art that interacts with art history, that is aware of its traditions and its contexts, but which, at the same time, strikes out in obvious or subtle ways to be different. The absolute need for originality on the part of the artist and their creative process is something that has been debated in recent years, but I, for one, still believe in its central role.

Last and equally important is the superior handling of media and technique that privileges the relevance of artistic skill. This is the easiest to absorb, in that technical skill and the creation of objects that are manifestations of such, is something that I find important, no matter how much or how little this is a fashionable position. For myself, evidence of technical skill is not simply the creation of something precious (though it can be that), but is also evidence of how serious the artist takes their responsibilities as artist, as individuals who shape and make the world.

In response to the first criteria, the power of visual images to stir deep psychological issues were manifested in various works such as the mixed media work by Laura Chenicek in “Father: Essential Part of Landscape” and “Siblings: Know Your Place” employing text and texture to schematize its meaning. While the feminist agenda is brought to the fore on the works Alison Oakes’ “Self Portrait” and “Painted Nails” with its fragmented body parts that provoke questions about concept of beauty as well as Virginia Derryberry’s oil painting entitled “Three Graces of New Orleans” featuring three women figures that engages the audience with their empowered gaze. Derryberry’s other large-scale painting “The Feast” makes us appreciate the traditional figurative painting and semiotics. In the work, gender relations and various symbolism alluding to it comes to mind, the dichotomy of light and dark, bounty/harvest and death/knowledge, female and male. This outstanding display of technical skill in the figurative painting tradition is also evident on “Cigar Boy” by local artist Bobbie Crews.

A few of the photographs included in the show either intrigues us with fragmented images of life stages such as (Greg Sand) “Photo Booth,” (Sarah Kyle) “How Am I Supposed to Feel” and (Michael Murphy’s) “Untitled I & III” or elicit some a sense of affinity to a place such as (Ronald Burke) “Col. Champan’s Place in Elkmont,” (Brandi Dostall) “Forgotten Farmhouse” and (William Kahn) “Dry Valley. Similarly, the paintings (Gay Arthur) “Industrial YMCA,” (Elliot Coatney) “Biltmore Laundry,” (William Bradford) “114 Cumberland” and

( Heather Whiteside) “Where State & Church Meets” are narratives of a nostalgic past, kept alive by the memory of its inhabitants.

The second and third criteria are mostly evident on the mixed media and three-dimensional works such as ( Chris Szaton) “Steam Punk Anatomy #1”, (Robert Bruce Scott) “Cathedral“, and the miniature snow globe sculpture (Robmat Butler) “Collision.”

Before I proceed with other works of art that have been selected for the top prizes, I would like to thank all of you again for this wonderful opportunity to be part of the Dogwood Arts Festival 2009 Regional Fine Art Exhibition.

The Honorable Mention award goes to the artist whose work is a composite of photographic images of places and architectural features that arouse a certain sense of place and belongingness with acute manipulation of media.

David Underwood, Honorable Mention, “Cactus, Windows and Doors” and “Complex Structure.”

Also noteworthy of an honorable mention is a very poignant mural collage work not just for its mere scale but for the juxtaposition vibrant color and raw texture that epitomize Latin art characterized by the passion and struggle of its people. The work grapples with the audience’ collective angst, pain and resolve. Jorge Gomez de lCampo, Honorable Mention, “War Cries”

The third prize goes to a sculptor ceramicist whose work are almost self conscious in their reference to art history, reminding us of Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party and the surrealist Meret Oppenheim’s “Object in Fur” also known as ‘fur teacup and spoon’. Consistent with the employment of humor in the questioning of social norms, here, the artist offers more with the display of the technical prowess of the ceramicist. The concept is indeed justified by the masterful handling of material, a proud example of the craft-based fine art production in the region.

Melody Tiemann, 3rd Prize for “Butter Me” and “Solitary Dinner”

The second prize has a title most apt in the Kantian, disinterested definition of ‘beauty’. An excellent example of contemporary art, it employed simple and ordinary materials like cut-out paper and created a complex sculptural relief of organic shapes and texture that truly brings forth an aesthetic reaction. This highly formalistic work deserves the recognition for its virtuosic bravado in an origami-inspired way.

Crystal Wagner, 2nd prize, “The Educe of Aesthetic Allure” and “Butterfly Effect”

Finally for the Best of Show, I would like to express my appreciation to the multisensory aesthetic satisfaction that has brought the visual arts, music and literature in a beautiful concerto. My personal background working closely with community-based art and social activists shares an affinity with the collaborative work, mixed media installation. However, its merit should not only be measured by its production process but should be given credit to the individual contributions and its cohesion. There is always the danger of hodge podge on interaction art projects but this interaction piece is indeed successful in visualizing their subject in diverse styles while inviting the audience on board to appreciate the music of this region.

Quote (collective of 10 artists, represented by Justin Tamm), Best of Show, “Pace of Our Feet” installation.

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SPONSORS

We gratefully acknowledge:

ORNL Federal Credit Union

Pilot Corporation

Clayton Family Foundation

Michael McCoy DDS

Stokely Foundation