Traditional art often focuses on landscapes and, as much as any place on earth, East Tennessee offers some of the most beautiful landscapes available for artists to capture, as they have done for generations. But has landscape-inspired art run its course? Is there anything new to say? The artists assembled for the current exhibition at Lilienthal Gallery, answer the question, amid their own idiosyncratically contemporary twists, with a resounding, “Yes!”
The exhibition, which opens tonight, July 11, at 23 Emory Place, from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm is free to the public. Earth tone attire is encouraged for the opening reception, in honor of the theme. David Butler, one of the featured artists, and recently retired Executive Director of the Knoxville Museum of Art, will speak about his work, which “celebrates the beauty of Appalachia,” at 6:30 pm.
I spoke with Kelly Ferguson, Gallery Director for Lilienthal, who said, “The impetus for the show was thinking about how the art of Lilienthal connects with people here. We want to bring international art (and one international artist is included here) . . . and the landscapes here have served as inspiration for artists across the world for generations.” She said an exhibition focusing on landscapes made sense and “they don’t have to be a traditional sense of a landscape.”
So, what translates this traditional subject into a contemporary work? It varies with the artist, but Ferguson pointed out the bold brush strokes in Butler’s work, which is being presented for the first time in a major exhibition. Of another local artist, photographer Gary Heatherly, she noted the use of editing and lens selection to produce photographs that appear realistic initially but assimilate modern photographic techniques to make something entirely fresh. David Underwood, the final of the three regional artists currently featured, has exhibited in the Smithsonian and other museums with his photo-collage and layering work. “Most of his works have a sort of metaphorical meaning, including allusions to history . . .”
Most of these artists are looking at the way man approaches nature, how are we interacting with it, man-made things in nature and what the natural world looks like after we have impacted it.
Previous generations’ artists, from the Romantics to the Hudson River School, captured the beauty of our mountainous landscapes effectively enough to play a part in saving the Smoky Mountains from development and establishing a national park. All good, but the portrayal and deconstruction of the natural world didn’t stop there. Impressionists, noted Pointillists, and abstract artists sought to capture the essence of natural intrigue in their own respective, though not necessarily realistic, ways. Modern and abstract artists distilled landscapes and natural elements down to blocks and splashes of color, or geometric designs—all of which are found naturally.
The same themes are carried forward with the non-regional artists. Paul Paiement, represented by the New York-based Ethan Cohen Gallery, superimposes transparent architectural structures over landscapes to show what might happen to the space and how future human impact might change it. His works could also be seen to envision what nature might return to once man-made structures are removed by time. Micah Ofstedahl, based in Oregon, envisions through his work the unseen forces, such as cell phone signals and electrical currents, rippling through seemingly natural spaces, unseen, but perhaps sensed.
Technology and human development and encroachment on natural resources have challenged artists to see nature differently and to explore man’s relation to nature in new ways. In varying ways, the artists featured here see the same nature that drew artists a hundred years ago, through the change we’ve experienced through industrial and technological revolutions. Whether using technology to alter the landscape experience or carefully inserting elements showing the impact of modern civilization on these once pristine vistas, they each have something new to say in a venerable genre.
New Orleans-based Ann Marie Auricchio represents the most abstract of the works, with one large piece and two smaller pieces preserved in acrylic. While a natural element seems clear, natural elements are surrounded with swirls of color and action. The larger piece brought to my mind the peaceful eye of a hurricane in the form of what could be taken as a field or pond, surrounded by chaos, leaving lots of room for speculation and thought. “Ann Marie Auricchio expresses the energetic motion of the land through a focus on color and form, which radiate poignant emotionality.”
Israeli-based artis Joseph Ashman depicts the Israeli countryside in a unique and very modern form. Like most good art, the works invite the viewer to explore more deeply, revealing new layers upon closer scrutiny. His works focus on the life-giving spirituality of the land and the sky.
The works, taken together are akin to meditation, an almost spiritual exploration of the modern relationship with nature. “In the vein of the transcendentalists, these artists seek a deeper understanding of the world . . . They break apart and recreate their reality, reforming it into the hybridized one in which we exist—that of technological existence translated through electricity and code. They pair these coexisting worlds with our intrinsic physicality, as creatures borne of the earth, the soil, and the waters.”
Tonight’s opening begins at 5:00 pm and, in addition to David Butler, who will give the artist talk, expect to be joined by at least two other artists featured in the exhibition. All works are offered for sale, and the gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5:00 pm. This exhibition will run through September. You can learn more about the gallery and their featured artists at their website and by following them on Facebook and Instagram. Also watch out for upcoming events, such as a talk by Knoxville’s favorite historian, Jack Neely on July 25, from 6-7:30 PM. He will be at the gallery to “tell the stories of artists like the Big Seven and how they impacted not only Tennessee, but the world.” Tickets here.