Dogwood Arts will begin installing the 2022-2023 Art In Public Places Sculpture Exhibition this weekend, June 4-5th. The exhibition includes thirty-one new sculptures selected by renowned glass artist, Tommie Rush. The program has grown tremendously in the past year (from 19 sculptures to 31) with the addition of three new placement sites––including Emory Place in North Knoxville, the Student Union at the University of Tennessee, and the Maker Exchange at World’s Fair Park. Installations will begin on Saturday, June 4th at the ORNL Federal Credit Union branches at Northshore and Oak Ridge. The majority of the sculptures in Krutch Park and Emory Place will be replaced on Sunday, June 5th, and finally at Zoo Knoxville, the UT Gardens, and the McGhee Tyson Airport on Tuesday, June 7th. The exhibition includes sculptors from 16 different states across the country: Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Artists included in the exhibition: Luke Achterberg, Matt Amante, Mary Angers, Nicole Beck, Steve Buduo, Brigit Ciskowski, Jim Collins, Matthew Duffy, Travis Emmen, Brian Ferriby, Art Garcia, Mike Hansel, Richard Herzog, Suguru Hiraide, Hanna Jubran, Rollin Karg, Ray Katz, Andrew Light, Harry McDaniel, Nathan Pierce, Richard Pitts, John Ross, Antoinette Schultze, Kevin Vanek, Susan Woodford, Chris Wubbena, and Joni Younkins-Herzog.
The sculptures will be on display throughout the greater Knoxville area through June 2023: in Downtown Knoxville (Krutch Park, Emory Place, Maker Exchange, UT Gardens, UTK Student Union), East Knoxville (Zoo Knoxville, The Muse), West Knoxville (ORNL Federal Credit Union–Northshore Branch), Oak Ridge (American Museum of Science & Energy, Jackson Square, ORNL Federal Credit Union–Oak Ridge Branch), and Maryville/Alcoa (McGhee Tyson Airport). The full exhibition includes 39 sculptures (31 new, 8 on permanent display).
About the Juror: Tommie Rush, a native of Mobile, Alabama, is a glass artist who lives and maintains a studio, Tomco Inc., in Knoxville, Tennessee. She began her early studies in ceramics which ultimately lead her to working in glass. By 1980, Tommie Rush began to share a studio space with renowned artist Richard Jolley, of whom she married several years later. Through tireless experimentation and the development of custom blended glass mixed in the studio, Tommie Rush has created a unique and identifiable style which has been celebrated in over 75 exhibitions and was honored in a retrospective exhibition at the Mobile Museum of Art in the spring of 2011. Her work can be found in numerous private and museum collections throughout the United States including the Sheldon Art Museum and Sculpture Garden in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Renwick Gallery in Washington D.C., the Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, Tennessee, among others.
About Art in Public Places:
The Art in Public Places program brings art outside, adding character and beauty to our city streets and spaces. The program includes an annually rotating, outdoor sculpture exhibition and a large-scale mural program that is entering its second year. The sculptures are installed in prominent locations throughout Knoxville, Oak Ridge, and Alcoa. Started in 2007 by Eddie Mannis and Bart Watkins, the sculpture program has curated and installed over 260 works of art and gained national recognition as a platform for exhibiting world-class sculptors.
The Art in Public Places program is made possible with support from ORNL Federal Credit Union, the City of Knoxville, Prestige Cleaners, the Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, Zoo Knoxville, Tennessee Arts Commission, Downtown Knoxville Alliance, Arts & Culture Alliance, Maker Exchange, Center for Student Engagement at the University of Tennessee, and UT Gardens.
