Calendar of Events

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present four new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from March 1-30, 2024. A free gathering with the artists will take place on Friday, March 1, from 5:00-9:00 PM and features music by Tinca Tinca.

Mac Bartine, George Denninger & Cosima Risolvo-Aryee: The Upstairs Show: An Elevated View
Mac Bartine uses fluid layers of color, movement and form to explore the imagination and our connections to emotion and the natural world. He strives to create works that invite personal interpretations and celebrations of our own experiences with life and creativity. Bartine is a life-long East Tennessee resident who grew up in Roane County. His mother is a professional musician, which led to his life-long passion for music and art. Bartine has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Berry College and an Master of Science in Organizational Psychology from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Today, he leads Smartria, a software company based in Knoxville, and is the lead singer and songwriter of local band Chameleous. This is his first public show of his paintings. www.bartine.com

Although George Denninger has had many interests, artistic expression was his first love as a child. In his career, he has been an aerospace engineer, an industrial and home designer, a college professor, a gallery owner, a motivational speaker, and an author. Denninger has exhibited nationally, including the Renwick Gallery in the Smithsonian American Art Museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City where his work is part of their permanent collection. He has owned galleries in Sugar Loaf, NY and St. Charles, MO. "Art is an expression of Soul. The more we know of Soul, the fuller and clearer the expression of art. True art is the response emanating one's identity." www.georgedenninger.com

Cosima Risolvo-Aryee was born in Taranto, Italy, a gulf city in the Ionian Sea where she spent long days at the beach absorbing the beauty, serenity and high energy of the sea; these days undoubtedly inspired her creativity, imagery and soul of her work. At age twelve, her family moved to northern Illinois and at age eighteen, she served in the U.S. Army. She later attended the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a double major in Painting and Drawing. In 2017, she began painting and exhibiting again, and her residence and art studio are currently located in East Tennessee. She works mainly in oils, occasionally using watercolors, pastel and charcoal. "My work is completely intuitive. Although you may almost recognize spaces, places and things in my work, my aim is not to render known objects. My aim is to express myself intuitively and authentically by following creative impulses, through which celestial blues illuminate some paintings and marine blues inundate others. I’m frequently told the spaces I create in my paintings are otherworldly and sometimes surreal. My approach to my artmaking is to tap into the wonder of the essence of subjects like light, portals, and energetic spaces; I am always surprised at what comes through me onto the canvas." www.cosimas.art

The exhibitions will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37902. The Emporium is open to the public Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Friday, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM; and Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Friday, March 29. Most of the works on exhibition will be for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop at www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, please see www.knoxalliance.com or call (865) 523-7543.