Recent art by Inna Nasonova Knox will be featured at Art Market Gallery in May. Image by the artist.

KNOXVILLE – Recent works by Inna Nasonova Knox and Mary Saylor, both of Knoxville, will be on display during the month of May at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the featured artists will be held during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk, beginning at 5:30 p.m. May 1. There will be complimentary refreshments and live music performed by "Poiesis", with Kelvin Walters on the alto saxophone and Jeremy Wright on guitar.

Inna Nasonova Knox was born in in Kazan Russia, and came to the United States in 2000. She now is a dual citizen. Her educational training in Russia includes fashion design, graduating with honors in interior design and, in the United States a degree in graphic technology design at Gateway Technical College in Racine, WI. During her years of studies she has shown and sold her work at numerous art galleries and exhibitions. Nasonova Knox creates her images with a vivid and rich use of color. Drawing on a fascination with new art ideas and her varied educational background, Inna likes to use different oil painting techniques and styles. Her wish is that the viewer's eye sees the dramatic hues and feels her passion for art.

Recent art by Inna Mary Saylor will also be featured at Art Market Gallery in May. Image by the artist.

Mary Saylor has created art for as long as she can remember and grew up in a household with artistic parents. Born in Eastern Kentucky and raised in Columbus, Ohio, she earned a BFA from Ohio University and taught art in middle school for some time. She worked in a variety of media and materials through the years, but this now-full-time health professional recently has focused on creating unique paper mache sculptures from found and recycled objects. A love and appreciation of all animals serves as her primary inspiration for these whimsical creatures which often are imbued with humor and warmth. As Saylor's sculptures transform from rough to finished painted pieces, each comes to life with its own story to tell.

Owned and operated by 62 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery, at 422 South Gay St., is a few doors from Mast General Store and next to Downtown Grill & Brewery. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday; 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday. The gallery is wheelchair accessible, and parking in the abutting garage and on the street is free on weekends and after 6 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call 865-525-5265, or visit artmarketgallery.net, or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.