Three Upcoming Exhibits

 Group, Solo, Group

I've got three upcoming exhibits in the next few months. The first is a fun exhibit put on by the Art and Culture Alliance of Knoxville in the Emporium Center for the Arts, 100 Gay Street, "Then and Now". I've got 2 of my plywood pieces in it:

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Arts & Culture Alliance Presents “Then & Now” to Celebrate the Emporium’s Ten-Year Anniversary

(06/19/2014/Knoxville) – The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition entitled “Then & Now”, a celebration of the ten-year anniversary of the Emporium Center which reopened in July 2004 following renovations. “Then & Now” will host 24 regional artists with a unique display of artwork in a side-by-side format: a piece from “then” (at least ten years old) and a piece from “now” (created within the last two years). The exhibition includes acrylic, charcoal, clay, photography, woven works, sculptures, oil, pen & ink, watercolor, and more and will be displayed in the main gallery of the beautifully-restored Emporium Center at 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville’s downtown arts anchor location, from July 4-26, 2014. A public reception will take place as part of First Friday activities on Friday, July 4, from 5:00-9:00 PM with complimentary hors d’oeuvres provided by Qdoba Mexican Grill. The First Friday reception also features a Jazz Jam Session hosted by Vance Thompson and Friends from 7:00-9:00 PM in the Black Box Theatre.

Artists featured in the exhibition include: Stephen Brayfield, Jason S. Brown, Victor Costantino, Bobbie Crews, Judi Gaston, Carl Gombert, Jessica Gregory, Annamaria Gundlach, Steve Hankal, Chriss Hardy, Hannah C. Holder, Kris Rehring Jones, Terri Jordan, Mary Lingen, Hali Maltsberger, Fritz Massaquoi, Roy McCullough, Kate McCullough, Clay Pardue, JoAnn Parsley, Elizabeth Porter, Ralph Shick, Denise Stewart-Sanabria, and Anika Toro.

The Emporium is free and open to the public. The exhibition hours are: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Saturday, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM; and (NEW!) Sundays, July 6 and July 20, 3:30-6:30 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Saturday, July 5. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.

 

Here's the old piece from 2003: Couch Possums, charcoal on plywood, eyeglasses

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I've got a solo exhibit, "Quantum Reconstructed" in the rotunda entrance of the Blount County campus of Pellissippi State from August 18th - October 18th. It will feature a group of my figurative full-scale plywood drawings in an installation interacting with the space. Reception TBA.

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I also have plywood drawings going to the  Fort Wayne Museum of Art 2014 Contemporary Realism Biennial in Indiana:

September 20 – November 30, 2014

This national invitational and juried exhibition highlights the strength and innovation of America’s current trends in realism. We are proud to expand the discourse on this enduring tradition in presenting the 2014 installment of this dynamic contemporary exhibition. Although a seemingly narrow focus, the art in this exhibition presents a vast range of ideas, approaches, styles, and subject matter. Some artists are building and expanding upon the legacies of Photorealism, Magic Realism, trompe l’oeil, and urban realism. Others strive to capture light and texture, or delve into the psychology of the situation or sitter.

Exhibit Article in The Tennessean (the Nashville newspaper)

‘Culinary Drama’ spices up The Arts Company

MiChelle Jones, For The Tennessean; 2:48 a.m. CDT June 20, 2014

Knoxville-based artist Denise Stewart-Sanabria has a way with food. Her latest exhibition at The Arts Company includes several overhead views of fruit and produce — eggplants, mangoes, apples, etc. — painted in a way that makes them seem fresh, enticing and also a little mischievous.
“Culinary Drama” remains on view through June 28 and includes “Smashed Watermelon on Mid-Century Pink and Avocado Tile.” In this oil-on-wood painting, a round watermelon sits spilling its bright red guts, yet still wearing its produce label.
The pink and green tile also makes an appearance in “The Battle of Goo Goo Moon” (36 inches by 36 inches), oil on canvas. This painting shares the look of Stewart-Sanabria’s previously exhibited series of decadent doughnuts staged against black backgrounds.
Here, a white cake stand balanced on two empty Ball canning jars is topped with partially eaten Goo Goos and Moon Pies; a wrapper and smashed box (displaying its “Made in Nashville” claim) are also in the picture.
“Polished Key Limes” is a grid of 16 lime halves, some a little worse for the wear, as though they’ve already been squeezed into a beverage of some sort. All have been splattered with pink glitter nail polish.
The Arts Company is at 215 Fifth Ave. N. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For information call 615-254-2040 or go to theartscompany.com.

June Exhibit at The Arts Company/Nashville

Culinary Drama

June 2014

The Arts Company, 215 Fifth Avenue of the Arts, Nashville, TN

615-254-2040

 Humans do things that amaze, entertain, and occasionally horrify Stewart-Sanabria. If she documented them literally, she would, according to her, probably have constant censorship issues. As a solution to this dilemma, she uses food as a stand in for humans, “figuring that not only would it be amusing, it could even be delicious!” Over the years, she has impaled maraschino cherries on nails, had pears enact Inquisition scenes, and encouraged donuts to enact the seven deadly sins and various fertility rites. This year’s exhibit will offer even more inventive perspectives!

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Below is a complete inventory of the exhibit. Battle of Goo Goo Moons, however, was pre-sold to the Tennessee State Museum, and has already been taken there for acquisition processing.

The Battle of Goo Goo Moon    oil on canvas  36” x 36”

Citric Levels    oil on canvas    48” x 60”   

Smashed Watermelon on Midcentury Pink and Avocado Tile oil on panel 30” x 40”

Flying Mangos of the Baroque Palace Ceiling   oil on canvas   40” x 60”

Hot, Smear & Melt   oil on canvas 36” x 48”

Surrounded by Eggplants  oil on canvas   2’ x 4’  

Observation    oil on canvas      3’ x 5’       

Mango Patterns    oil on canvas   21” x 28”   

Twisted Jimmies     oil on canvas    30” x 48” 

                            Binge and Purge  oil on linen  24”H x 48”W                      

Wet Strawberries    acrylic on canvas     4’ x 5’

Muscadines and Scupernogs Squared    oil on canvas  3' x 4'