Art Market Gallery’s October features artists Thie, Gabbard

Recent works by artist Fran Thie and potter Larry Gabbard will be featured throughout October at the Art Market Gallery. An opening reception for the artists, including complimentary refreshments and live music performed by Harold Nagge, will begin at 5:30 p.m. on October 5th, during Downtown Knoxville’s monthly First Friday Art Walk. The show will highlight Fran Thie's pastel and watermedia works, and Larry Gabbard's fast-fired clay pottery.

The Art Market Gallery is also happy to welcome four new members in painting/drawing - Carole Quin, Kara Lockmiller, Pebbie Mott and Linn Stilwell - whose work will be on display beginning October 1st.

Fran Thie: Fran is an established pastel and watermedia artist whose work reflects her love of creative writing and literature by presenting sensitive, impressionistic and expressive interpretations of nature in both landscape and abstract paintings. Through intuitive use of color and texture, she strives to transform an ordinary scene into a special place where both drama and serenity can co-exist. Fran paints in both pastel and watermedia, but her primary specialty is pastel. By first preparing an underpainting in acrylic or watercolor, she lays a foundation for visual depth and richness, which she then overlays with pastel. While many of her works have been painted on location, she often begins the painting from a photograph or sketch in her studio, then puts the resource material aside and completes the painting by intuitively reacting to the painting surface. Her works, whether representational or abstract, always have their foundation in the world of nature.

Fran regularly exhibits in juried exhibitions across the Southeast, with a number of awards to her credit. Her paintings have been juried into the Oak Ridge Open Show, the Southeastern Pastel Society's International and Members Exhibitions, The Appalachian Pastel Society's National Exhibition, and the Virginia Highlands Festival among others. She is active in the Knoxville arts community, having previously served as president of the Tennessee Artists Association and the Knoxville Watercolor Society. She is also a member of Art Group 21 and the Tellico Art Guild. Over several years in the past she participated in the Knoxville Museum of Art's Artists on Location, Covenant Health's Artsclamation, and taught workshops in pastel painting.

Larry Gabbard: Larry began his pottery career after moving to Kingston, TN in 1999, and training initially at the Oak Ridge Art Center (ORAC). Most of his pottery is wheel thrown; he seeks out unique, alternative kilns and firing techniques (e.g., raku, horse hair, saggar, obvara, and pit firing). Larry attends workshops of well-known potters throughout the Southeast, studying and applying their unique techniques. He has attended classes at John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC; Hambidge Center for Creative Arts at Rabun Gap, GA; Mudfire Gallery, Decatur, GA; and the ORAC in Oak Ridge, TN. Larry enjoys fast-firing techniques which create a rich variety of textures and colors on bisque clay. He finds the unexpected marks made when clay, heat, and smoke interact to be among the most intriguing and challenging of finishes to perfect and reproduce.

Larry is a member of: The Foothills Craft Guild, The Arts & Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville, The Art Market Gallery of Knoxville, The Oak Ridge Art Center, and The Haywood County Arts Council.

Owned and operated by more than 60 professional regional artists, the Art Market Gallery, at 422 South Gay St., is a few doors away 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; and 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.

Published October 1, 2018