New Exhibitions Opening

THE ARTS & Culture Alliance is pleased to present five new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from June 2-30. Most of the works are for sale and may be purchased through the close of the exhibition by visiting in person or the online shop at KnoxAlliance.store.

Chaos & Void by Vincent Drake and Greg Schweiger in the Upper Gallery

Chaos & Void includes new paintings by Vincent Drake and new photography by Greg Schweiger.

Vincent Drake’s artist statement excerpts: In my art, I’m unconcerned with beauty or idealization. I’m interested in investigating our culture’s influence on our identities and the confusion, panic, and suffering that results. My subjects are people: sometimes we as individuals, sometimes us as a group. They are part mechanical construction, part hallucination; both comical and uncomfortable; suffering, confused, and trapped by their emptiness and proselytized ambitions.

Greg Schweiger’s artist statement excerpts: In my abstract work, I explore photography by manipulating the reflective and refractive properties of glass objects, paper, and other materials to capture abstract colors, shapes, and shadows along with motion and defects. This is done through multiple exposures in-camera, meaning the image processing happens within the digital camera itself. I remove the external world as my subject and explore new photographic frontiers. My hope is to inspire the viewer into thought and discovery.

Barbara Bolton Cornett: Arboretum Obscura and Emily Greenquist: The Hardin Valley Project in the Lower Gallery

Barbara Bolton Cornett’s artist statement excerpts: Trees that grew in seemingly impossible terrains, trees that had grown incredibly haphazardly, trees that seemed to overcome extreme disfiguration and mutation - they all intrigue me. As the years went by, it became a type of game to see just how many strange and unique trees I could find during a hike. Over time, it evolved into this project of intriguing images from the many interesting trees.

Emily Greenquist’s artist statement excerpts: Since 2019, Knox County has gained more than 18,000 people, and Hardin Valley has exploded. As a photographer, I felt the call to document these old houses before they were erased and replaced. I started with the still-standing empty farmhouses, then captured the farmland that was cleared, hills being excavated, subdivisions being built up, and property being posted for sale. I often thought about the emotional balancing act between the sadness of change and the need for development.

Diana Ferguson: Behold the Night in the Display Case

Diana Ferguson, also known as DiFergi, is an internationally recognized and awarded visual artist.

Artist statement: Faces, thoughts, narratives, and emotion are what “talk” to me. I want a story or a feeling to cover my canvas. Power and spirit, color and texture, visual energy and magical wonder are all interwoven into my paintings. Reality has very little to do with the intention of my final image.

Summer Small: Daughter Land on the North Wall Summer Small depicts the strange as it is familiar, and the familiar as it is mysterious and ephemeral. She is a self-taught visual artist who has spent her life exploring and evolving her emotional and aesthetic vision and developing the technical skills to execute that vision in diverse media. A founding participant in the Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk, she is always inspired by her upbringing and community in Southern Appalachia.

Deb Mazz Cikovic: Our Earth in Color in the Atrium

Deb Mazz Cikovic is known for paintings in oils, ink, and acrylic pouring, as well as one-of-a-kind epoxy work.

Artist statment: Creating art is something I do every day. I get inspiration from music, photography, nature, and anything that surrounds me.

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, located at 100 S. Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. The Emporium is open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. For more information, call 865-523-7543 or visit KnoxAlliance.com.