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March 2008 "Illumination: Works of Vibrant Imagination"
Katie Gamble, born and raised in Maryville, home to her family for nearly eight generations, has cited her love of the Smoky Mountains as the inspiration for all her work. Gamble's fascination with landscapes developed while attending school at Western Carolina University. Influenced early in her career by Paul Cézanne and Vincent Van Gogh, she developed a loose, contemporary impressionistic style. "I focus on the relationships of color and space and patterns of light and dark. I break down my subject into blocks of color, which has caused my work to develop a unique "chunky" quality. My works are distorted but honest views of my world. The space and depth of my work is easier to register from a distance, but just as in nature, a closer look reveals more." Gamble has recently focused her work on the nocturnal landscape. “I am in the process of observing artificial light and how it reflects and responds to surrounding objects. I am fascinated with the way different lighting can look at night and how it interacts with man-made materials.” City textures such as metal, stone, brick, and glass create their own unique luminescence, especially when wet, which Gamble works to convey in her oil paintings. This 'reflective light' is the inspiration for the particular series of work that will be on display at the Emporium. “I want my work to convey the same mysterious qualities and complexities found in nature but presented with a new point of view. I leave a lot to the imagination so each person sees the work differently.” Gamble works as a freelance artist with her business Lady of the Earth Studios, providing trompe l'oeil murals and custom oil paintings for clients throughout the Southeast. In January 2008, she launched the monthly “Last Friday Art Walk” in downtown Maryville through her work with Fine Arts Blount.
Jessica Gregory was born in Knoxville and lived some of her childhood in Los Angeles, Utah, and Michigan before returning to Knoxville with her family in the early 1980s. Both parents supported her need to create, providing materials, workshops, and classes throughout her school years. Gregory attended Tennessee's Governors School for the Arts and received scholarship to the Atlanta College of Art. She also attended the University of Tennessee. Influential artists in her life include Hieronymus Bosch, Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali, J. W. M. Turner, and Francis Bacon. Her interest in sculpture led her to also become a certified welder. Gregory's work is prized by local and regional collectors because of her innate ability to capture unique themes and concepts with vibrant color and motion. She produces abstract, realistic and surrealistic scenes. "There are many things in our lives we cannot see or do not take the time to see, such as thoughts, feelings, spirits, and energy. I want to convey a visual interpretation of those things. I layer colors and cut through them to reveal the light on the inside, sometimes in rhythm, to visually show the energy. I am in constant flux with subject matter and technique because I am always learning. Recent paintings depict the world around me, from where I bought my coffee to the excitement of our local fair. I am also inspired and driven to do my best by the incredible work of other local artists." Gregory has participated in several group and solo exhibits throughout the region. She also organized and participated in the 2006 Grotto 7 art exhibit and auction benefiting the Kim Rowden Breast Cancer Memorial Fund. She currently plays drums in the all-female Knoxville funk rock band Stump and is producing both commissioned and original paintings in her studio.
"Emma Rides a Flying Pig" by Jessica Gregory Zophia Kneiss does metal fabrication with many metal alloys, traditional blacksmithing, horseshoeing, sculpture, functional art and commissions. Her motto, “If you can dream it, I can build it!”, serves as the inspiration for her work, and she often exceeds the expectations of her clients. Kneiss’s hard and dirty work on an anvil and in her metal shop is a labor of love, and one can tell when looking at her work that she puts extra time and process into each individual piece. When she builds sculptures, she keeps the integrity of her art with even the smallest pieces because each piece is an original and unique drawing on metal and crafted like no other piece in the world. Her scrap metal animals are created one at a time by finding and piecing together individual objects. Each piece is also a reflection of her life and work, which includes Peace Corps adventures, rescuing animals, and giving back to the community. On her tour with Peace Corps in the Philippines, she received an amazing view of the role of artists in society and in the community, and she seeks to help people and animals with her art and participate in community activities. Her metal shop, Burning Art, is located in New Tazewell. “Burning Art is about appreciating and fostering the inner child in all of us. My goal is to build art on which everyone can play… huge installation/landscape sculptures that foster imagination. It is important that my art engulfs the senses, not simply glanced at from outside ropes and barriers.”
Detail from dragon sculpture by Zophia Kneiss The opening reception on Friday, March 7, from 5-9pm, is free and open to the public, and complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be served. “Illumination: Works of Vibrant Imagination” is on exhibit March 7-26 at the Arts & Culture Alliance’s Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, downtown Knoxville. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9-5. Arts Advocacy Day
Sen. Jamie Woodson visits with the Knoxville contingency
Sen. Woodson, Sen. Tim Burchett, and Rep. Harry Brooks speaking with the group
Members of the contingency
Sen. Randy McNally joins the group
First Friday Opening Reception
Viewing Katie Gamble's work
The Carpetbag Theatre is ready to perform!
Among Zophia Kneiss's large steel flowers
A large acrylic piece by Jessica Gregory
Enjoying the reception
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Visit the Alliance's Emporium Center
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