Hunt Adams’ “ignis fatuus”
This Friday, Franklin Antique Mall is offering two forms of craftsmanship during August’s Franklin Art Scene: local bluegrass band The Mizells will provide a live pickin’ performance to complement work by Franklin artist Marlena Karlsson.
A recent member of the first-Friday event, the shop on Second Avenue South says that Karlsson will be on hand to talk with participants about the “Return to Nature” exhibition.
“I’m drawn to nature and noticing the simplest detail in the world. I find it so fulfilling to emotionally connect with nature and translate that into my work,” she said. “My work consists of acrylic, enamel, sprays, stains, resin and driftwood—all elements I use to make pieces come to life.”
In conjunction with the monthly gathering coordinated by the Downtown Franklin Association (DFA), the Franklin Antique Mall is one of more than 30 locations hosting local artists on their properties, 6-9 p.m. Many of the sites offer refreshments, drink or live music.
The art crawl is free, but a $5 wristband includes unlimited stops on the trolleys that circulate throughout the circuit. In addition to an online map and QR code, a Franklin Art Scene smartphone application is now available on Google Play. The download gives users up-to-date information on the upcoming event and its locations.
The Franklin Art Scene is celebrating its two-year anniversary Friday, Sept. 6, and its committee says that the event will offer a heightened experience for art crawlers.
For more information, go to www.franklinartscene.com.
Additional highlights include:
O’More College of Designis launching two new exhibitions during the August Franklin Art Scene. Its fine art gallery on the South Margin Street campus will host artists Rob Matthews and Aletha Carr, and showcase several drawings and paintings from each.Matthews is a Philadelphia native, and an artist whose work has been shown in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery. His graphite and ink drawings are rooted in his explorations of faith and religion.Carr, an artist with a studio in Spring Hill, Tenn., works in assemblages—two-dimensional or three-dimensional artistic compositions that reflect Carr’s rural surroundings tangled with the energy of spreading urbanization.
- Bagbey House on Fourth Avenue North is hosting the “Red Shutter Orleans” exhibition by Kerin Beard–a small collection of New Orleans and French Quarter oil paintings, mostly consisting of bright, vibrant colors that transform the Vieux Carrè to the artist’s own adaptation of the beautiful and whimsical City of New Orleans.
- It’s Vintage Baby will feature the work of Marion Ward, a highly respected pioneer in the art of low-key color photography. Ward has combined his love of art and photography to provide quality portraiture to build a rewarding career spanning more than forty years.
- Damico Frame & Art Gallery will be featuring the work of Hunt Adams, an artist who specializes in oil paintings. His recent work has taken on a new, more abstract style that conjures images of both order and chaos—the longer you look at it, the more you begin to see. Although he has his own inspiration behind his work, his work is intended to be interpreted by the viewer.
- Elisie McClurg of JGP Artist Studios will be featured at Regions Bank on First Avenue South. McClure explores many mediums in her career, and recently discovered her love for painting in oil.
- Melody Hall, also of JGP Artist Studios, is displaying art at Uncle Bud’s Catfish Shack, a relatively new member of the Franklin Art Scene. Hall works primarily in oil, and subject often portray the beauty of nature.
- Stites & Harbison on W. Main Street will provide musical renderings by local artist Kent Burnside, tunes to complement the law firm’s August artists: Essence Devonne Blair and Joseph Bibb.
- Gallery 202 on Second Avenue South is hosting Joe Parrott, a Knoxville-based fine artist with 40-plus years in the graphic arts industry. His art is dedicated to a lifelong pursuit of creative evolution, and reflects styles of Van Gogh and Edward Hopper.
- Town’s End General Store on W. Main Street will feature Donna Brevard, a local artist who paints her rural surroundings, such as landscapes, rustic barns and tree lines. She says her “inspiration starts in my backyard.”