Art by Mira Gerard will be on exhibit along with other ETSU faculty art August 7-28, 2015 at the Emporium Center. Image courtesy of the artist.

KNOXVILLE – The Arts & Culture Alliance and the ETSU Slocumb Galleries are presenting a new exhibition entitled “Further East” by the faculty and staff of the Department of Art & Design at East Tennessee State University. “Further East” features contemporary work in various media by Johnson City-area artists David Dixon, M. Wayne Dyer, Mira Gerard, Travis Graves, Mindy Herrin, Amanda Hood, Vanessa Mayoraz, Patricia Mink, Catherine Murray, Peter Pawlowicz, Kelly Celeste Porter, Kevin Reaves, Andrew Scott Ross, Katie Sheffield, Ralph Slatton, Mike Smith, and Dawn Marie Tipton. The art works will be displayed at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from August 7-28, 2015. An opening reception will take place on Friday, August 7, from 5:00-9:00 PM featuring a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson and Friends from 7:00-8:45 PM in the Black Box Theatre. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be available and chocolate fondue will be provided by the Melting Pot of Knoxville.

For the third year in a row, the Arts & Culture Alliance has partnered with a community-based art gallery in the Southeast for the purpose of promoting local artists within each community. In June, the Tipton Gallery displayed a selection of work by 35 Knoxville-area artists in their gallery space at 126 Spring Street in downtown Johnson City. In exchange, the Alliance now presents this exhibition of works by ETSU faculty and staff at the Emporium. “Similar to the Alliance, the Tipton Gallery promotes and supports regional artists through rotating exhibitions and educational opportunities for the community,” says Liza Zenni, Executive Director of the Arts & Culture Alliance. “While many of our artist members are well known here in the Knoxville area, we wanted Johnson City to be exposed to their work, and we look forward to Johnson City artists receiving extra exposure here in Knoxville.”

The works chosen to travel to Knoxville include the evocative figurative paintings by Department of Art & Design chair Mira Gerard, whose work recently showed in the New American Paintings #118, as well as mixed media paintings by Amanda Hood, Dawn Marie Tipton, and new graphic design faculty Kelly Celeste Porter. Digital work by fellow graphic design faculty David Dixon and M. Wayne Dyer, along with work in typography by art historian Peter Pawlowicz and photographs of civil war re-enactors by Katie Sheffield, are juxtaposed with hand drawn work by extended media artist Vanessa Mayoraz, paper-cut installations by Andrew Scott Ross, and prints by Ralph Slatton. Also featured in the exhibition are encaustic works by Catherine Murray, former chair and key organizer for the installation of public sculptures in downtown Johnson City. 3-D works in the exhibition include work by Dogwood Festival awardee Mindy Herrin, metalsmith Kevin Reaves, and environmental bronze sculptures by Travis Graves. A layered quilt by nationally renowned fiber artist Patricia Mink and the Appalachian rural landscape captured by prominent photographer, USA Fellow and Tennessee Arts Commission awardee Mike Smith, complete the exhibition that represents the diversity of art practice in the Johnson City area in Northeast TN region, just further east of Knoxville.

The Art Galleries under the Department of Art & Design at the ETSU College of Arts and Sciences promote the understanding and appreciation of visual arts in support of the academic experience and the cultural development surrounding communities. Their mission is to provide venues for and access to contemporary art by organizing innovative exhibitions that promote artistic excellence, diversity, collaborations and creative thinking. For more information, please visit www.etsu.edu/cas/art/slocumb.

“Further East” will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM and select Sundays 3:30-6:30 PM. Additional special hours are posted at www.theemporiumcenter.com/visit.html. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.