Although I left with no art, I did leave First Friday with a greater appreciation for Knoxville’s art community. The sheer amount of people who were outside and interacting with each other proves one of the event goals to be successful. Free public viewing of art. Free live music. Free food. Free Franzia! Also, Friday’s weather provided the perfect stroll to Gay Street. How could anyone skip out on this monthly event?
The Art Gallery of Knoxville featured Ashley Hanna and Kyle Kuykendall, two Knoxville residents who are also engaged to one another. Kuykendall focuses on photography, while Hanna’’s primary works were produced with oil or acrylic paints. Although Hanna does mostly paintings, deep in the back of the gallery were her most interesting pieces. She had done a few small etchings which proved to be different from all of her other work, and it was a shame to see them tucked in a place which many people probably overlooked.
Rala provided an interesting atmosphere with a small circulating crowd and a lone saxophone player, Jason Thompson. As Thompson played melodies from the corner, art enthusiasts came in to view the multitude of art Rala provided. There were plenty of different artists and art forms to mirror the surprisingly different price ranges. This location featured the photographs, multi-dimensional cards, and mixed-media art of Anika Toro. Her artwork ranged from very simple to very complicated and realistic to abstract.
The most eye-catching pieces at The Art Market Gallery were by Karen Kyte. Her clay sculptures were interesting in look and material. They consisted mostly of human features, but there were others, such as a tray of olives, which would fit in a kitchen as well as an art gallery. Kyte, along with George Rothery, were both the featured artists. Rothery’s background was not posted, but by viewing his paintings, one can clearly see his passion for the water, because the majority of his paintings were of ships and other items associated with being on the water.
The Square Room had Justin Helton of Status Serigraph to present his poster artwork. Creating posters for Black Keys, Ween, Jack Johnson, the Avett Brothers, Phish, the Decemberists, the Disco Biscuits and more, Helton showed a more professional side to the art community. The mood and music of the Square Room, for this event, was much less like any of the other galleries downtown and more like the attic of a “dead-head.” Helton’s colorful and creative posters ranged in style and appearance, but they were nothing shy of a concert poster one might see for extremely popular bands, because in many cases, they were.
First Friday is doing some amazing things in Knoxville, and it is so nice to see a positive change in the area. The more support, the more people that come out, the more artists who participate, the more our art community will flourish. There should be no end in sight for progressing the scene. There has been a serious rebirth in the community as a result of First Friday, and hopefully there will be more art, and more Franzia, to consume with each following month.
