‘Greetings from Vestal VI’ to Feature Tri-Star Arts Studio Artists

Tri-Star Arts is pleased to present the next exhibition in their Main Gallery at the historic Candoro Marble Building. The sixth group show of its kind, Greetings From Vestal VI, featuring recent works by Knoxville-based Tri-Star Arts resident studio artists Rachel Sevier Dallery, Casey Field, Risa Hricovsky, and Ashley Beals Pace opens Friday, November 20, 2026 and will run through Saturday, January 23, 2027. Co-Curators: Brian R. Jobe and Wesley Roden.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, November 20, 2026 from 5:00 until 8:00 pm (artists in attendance). The address is 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920 and admission is always free of charge. Visitors should drive only on the crushed gravel driveway and parking lot surfaces. Driving vehicles on the lawn is always prohibited.

Main Gallery, Nov. 20, 2026 – Jan. 23, 2027

Rachel Sevier Dallery is a Knoxville-based artist from Louisiana, primarily working with clay, fibers, and wax. She received her MFA in Ceramics from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2019, and is currently a resident studio artist at Tri-Star Arts in the historic Candoro Marble Building.

Casey Field (b. 1980) is a figurative and portrait artist living and working in the American South. In her work, Field often incorporates themes of spiritual seeking, divine nature, and the twenty-first century human experience. Methods of Classical realism and contemporary creative practices exist side-by-side in her studio. Field was the 2022-2023 recipient of the Steve and Ann Bailey Opportunity Grant, and she has been a Tri-Star Arts resident artist at the historic Candoro Marble Building in Knoxville since 2024. Field is a member of the Portrait Society of America and received honorable mention for her painting, Mary and Her Demons are Totally Fine, in the PSOA’s 2024 Members Only Competition. Field is a Knoxville native. She and her family live in South Knoxville where she can often be found walking the dog, painting outside, or hosting an art club for young artists.

Risa Hricovsky is a sculptural installation artist. Their work pushes the boundaries between painting and sculpture, and between art, design and craft. Risa received a MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a post-bacc from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BFA from Bowling Green State University. Risa has been a recipient of a Bailey Opportunity Grant, Current Art Fund grant, and won 1st place in mixed media at the Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics. Risa has exhibited nationally and internationally, and most recently they had a solo exhibition, Then is Now, at the Arkansas Museum of Art (Little Rock, AR). Risa has attended many prestigious residencies; most notable residencies are The Studios at MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA), Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center (Skealskor, Denmark), and SIM (Reykjavik. Iceland). Risa is currently a resident artist at Tri-Star Arts in the historic Candoro Marble Building (Knoxville, TN).

Ashley Beals Pace works at the intersection of handcraft, tradition, place, and the natural beauty of the Appalachian mountains. She is an architect, industrial designer, and artist working in East Tennessee. Her work ranges in scale from small drawings and sculpture to built work. Growing up in Appalachia, her interest lies in the vernacular of the region which is evident in the beauty of handcrafted items and the textures of the natural world. She explores the methods of imperfect handcraft through weaving and knitting found fibers and manipulating paper. Themes include beauty in the mundane, mystery in the overlooked, and wonder in the humble. Her work has recently been exhibited in regional juried exhibitions including the 2025 and 2026 Dogwood Arts Regional Exhibition and ArtFields in South Carolina.

Project Space, Nov. 20, 2026 – Jan. 23, 2027

ONEIRIC EXPANSE

BY LAUREN ADAMS

Tri-Star Arts is pleased to present the next exhibition in their Golden Chain Gallery project space located at the historic Candoro Marble Building. Oneiric Expanse by Lauren Adams (Knoxville, TN) opens Friday, November 20, 2026 and will run through Saturday, January 23, 2027. This show is located within the unique architectural space of a narrow wooden stairwell.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, November 20, 2026 from 5:00 until 8:00 pm (artist in attendance). The address is 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920 and admission is always free of charge. Visitors should drive only on the crushed gravel driveway and parking lot surfaces. Driving vehicles on the lawn is always prohibited.

Lauren Adams is an East Tennessee-based wife, mother, bibliophile, music lover, and oil painter. She earned her BFA in Art Education with a concentration in Painting from the University of South Carolina and spent 20 years teaching visual art in East Tennessee public schools. She now focuses on her painting, using archival and classical oil painting methods, and is creating sister bodies of work: Nocturnal Landscapes and The Dream Vortex. Through Nocturnal Landscapes, she explores what defines a landscape, while The Dream Vortex explores the journey into the subconscious dream realm. Lauren is represented by dkGallery in Marietta, Georgia.

Multipurpose Room, Nov. 20, 2026 – Dec. 31, 2027

SOLO

BY JULIE BELCHER

Tri-Star Arts is pleased to present a new exhibition in their Multipurpose Room, located at the historic Candoro Marble Building, feat. works by Julie Belcher (Knoxville, TN) and opening Friday, November 20, 2026. This show will run through Friday, December 31, 2027.

An opening reception will be held on Friday, November 20, 2026 from 5:00 until 8:00 pm (artist in attendance). The address is 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920 and admission is always free of charge. Visitors should drive only on the crushed gravel driveway and parking lot surfaces. Driving vehicles on the lawn is always prohibited.

Carriage House, one night only, Nov. 20, 2026

STILLNESS IN MOTION: THE LONG DRIVE HOME

FEAT. WESLEY RODEN AND ELENA NIKOLAEVA

Tri-Star Arts is pleased to present a site responsive pop-up exhibition titled Stillness In Motion: The Long Drive Home feat. works by Wesley Roden (Knoxville, TN) and Elena Nikolaeva (Chattanooga, TN) in the carriage house at the historic Candoro Marble Building on Friday, November 20, 2026 from 5:00 until 8:00 pm (one night only).

Wesley Roden is a mixed media artist currently working in Knoxville, Tennessee. His work prior to 2019 consisted of illustrations in acrylic and ink, referencing the saturated colors and storytelling of comics. After studying under Chattanooga based muralists, Wes began collaging and painting to convey narratives unique to Southern Appalachia. In 2023, Wes received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where his work shifted from depicting personal experience to narratives surrounding community. The resulting work explored architecture as well as multi-media installation, employing each medium’s ability to facilitate shared experiences. Since then, Wes has balanced oil painting, sculpture, and mixed media installation, exploring the intersection of each to reflect commonalities within his audience.

Elena Nikolaeva is a video and performance artist whose work captures moments of emotional intensity and vulnerability. Working primarily with video, temporal dislocation, and improvised spoken word, Elena captures the emotional residue of time passing, weaving scenes within a public yet intimate digital space where vulnerability and self-recognition are preserved. She navigates processing of memories and imagined futures, finding ground within. Elena holds a BFA in Graphic Design and a Bachelor’s in Education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her background also includes theater and improvisational training, both at the university and with various organizations throughout the region. Drawing on this foundation, her work focuses on deepened connection with herself, with others, and her surroundings.

Grounds, ongoing through Jun. 30, 2027

THE LOST STATE

BY MANDY CANO VILLALOBOS

Tri-Star Arts directs visitors to the outdoor sculpture on the grounds of the historic Candoro Marble Building. The Lost State by Mandy Cano Villalobos (Grand Rapids, MI) will remain on view through Wednesday, June 30, 2027.

This large sculpture has been placed to sync with the indoor exhibitions on view, extending the conversation outdoors to an accessible public space adjacent to the driveway entrance.

Cano Villalobos states the following about her sculpture, The Lost State:

“The Lost State harnesses the history of the ‘state that never was’. Between 1784 and 1788, the people of present-day Knoxville proposed statehood, and were eventually rejected by a newly established U.S. government. This project, a domed colonnade spliced in half, resembles a defunct federal monument forged from metal detritus. Discarded pots and pans, rusted barn roofing, outdated hardware, and other metal bits will slowly corrode over a two year span, highlighting the vulnerability of systems and institutions we believe indestructible. Given America’s current situation, The Lost State is a timely tribute to the liminal space between desire, failure, and our perplexed reality.” – Mandy Cano Villalobos, October 2025

This project has been co-organized and co-curated by Jason Sheridan Brown and Brian R. Jobe.

Mandy Cano Villalobos is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans installation, 2D, performance, and sculpture. Her projects explore ideas of home, memory and cultural identity. Cano Villalobos has exhibited in venues including Bridge Projects (Los Angeles, CA), POSITIONS Art Fair (Berlin, DE), Proyecto T (Mexico City), Proyecto Pikaro (Mexico City), Untitled Art Fair (Miami, FL), Museum Wilhelm Morgner Kunst (Soest, DE), Modern Art Gallery (Veszprém, Hungary), Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (Arlington, VA), Boston Center for the Arts (Boston, MA), The Wellin Museum of Art (Clinton, NY), Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD), Ukranian Institute of Modern Art, (Chicago, IL), Zolla Lieberman Gallery (Chicago, IL), Museum of New Art (Detroit, MI), Hillyer Art Space (Washington, DC), Gray Contemporary (Houston, TX), and La Casa Pauly (Puerto Montt, Chile). Her work has been reviewed in The New York Times, ArtNews, The Washington Post, Sculpture Magazine, Hyperallergic, and The Chicago Reader, amongst others. She is the recipient of a Virginia Center for Creative Arts Fellowship, and has been awarded grants from multiple organizations including the Gottlieb, Puffin, Frey, and Chenven Foundations, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. Cano Villalobos works in Grand Rapids, MI and Brooklyn, NY.

Visit the Gallery

Tri-Star Arts exhibitions are open to the public regularly from Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 am until 5:00 pm, alongside iconic spaces within the Candoro Marble Building (located in the Vestal neighborhood of Knoxville).

Tri-Star Arts is based at the Candoro Marble Building with its main office, gallery space, and artist studios. Their gallery features exhibitions with a local, state-wide, and national focus on contemporary visual art. 

Constructed in 1923, the Candoro Marble Building originally served as the offices and showroom for the Candoro Marble Company. It showcases a Charles Barber-designed Beaux-Arts architectural style, beautiful Tennessee pink marble, and an iconic tree-lined drive on its one-acre grounds. In early 2021, the Aslan Foundation completed a substantial restoration of the building. In partnership with the Aslan Foundation, Tri-Star Arts oversees all programming at the site. It is located at 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920.

About Tri-Star Arts:

Established in 2014, Tri-Star Arts serves Tennessee by cultivating and spotlighting the contemporary visual art scenes in each region while fostering a unified state-wide art scene. Their programs promote art dialogue between the different cities in the state, and between the state and the nation. Tri-Star Arts initiatives include a gallery and artist studios at the historic Candoro Marble Building, annual Current Art Fund project grants, statewide collaborative projects, and the LocateArts.org web resource.

Follow Tri-Star Arts on Instagram and Facebook #TRISTARARTS