Student Control

One of the unsung heroes of the growing downtown art district is the University of Tennessee’s Gallery 1010.  It is the only non-profit exhibition space in Tennessee that is fully run by students.  A bit more attention has been given to it since its move from the obscure fourth floor space in the Candy Factory to its prime location at 113 S. Gay St., directly across from the Emporium Center for the Arts and the UT Downtown Gallery.  The attention is deserved, as many of its exhibits are dynamic and showcase some very accomplished, progressive work.

Nothing is too crazy for the gallery.  The main purpose of Gallery 1010 is creative experimentation without retribution or censorship, Julie Camarata explains.  Camarata, a student in the fine arts graduate school program, is the gallery director this year.  Individual students use the space to conceptualize and realize ambitious ideas that they otherwise might not have undertaken.  Exhibiting at the gallery, however, involves the same process that artists need to go through in the non-academic world.  They have to submit a full proposal that includes 10 to 20 images of their present work, a written description of the work they will be installing, an artist statement and even a budget.  Once all the proposals have been submitted, the gallery director juries the entries to determine which ones will be scheduled.  Exhibits occur on an almost weekly basis during the school year, with occasional open exhibits that can bring in non-students and recent graduates during the summer.

After the students are booked, Camarata’s job as curator goes into effect.  With a background that includes past employment at the renowned P&C Art Gallery, in Washington, D.C., Camarata is no stranger to the exhibit process.  Working with experimental media, however, is always a challenge, such as when a student wants to do an installation that involves large groups of bananas.  (Fortunately, potentially rotting vegetables aren’t too much of a worry since the exhibits last only one week.)  Group collaborative shows involving video, performance and both two- and three-dimensional art are major undertakings that involve skills akin to set design and interior design to get everything right.

During a recent Friday reception, a gigantic sculpture of a mousetrap had been placed in the middle of the gallery floor.  At least six feet long, and with a frighteningly huge industrial spring on it that made the ones on residential garage doors look tiny, it was constructed almost entirely of the commercial particle board that is used for house sheathing and floor underlaying.  The final touch was a tiny piece of cheese positioned in the center of the bait tray.  Surprisingly, the piece was a creation not from a sculpture major, but by graphic art major Jonathan Stovall.  In fact, with only two exceptions, the entire exhibit was of fine art work produced by a group of graphic art majors.  The themed exhibit, “Creatures,” was not only the first exhibit graphic art major Christian Young curated and hung, it was the first exhibit in which he had shown.  The collection of drawings and paintings on the surrounding walls were accomplished and dynamic.  Young’s own work demonstrates a solid familiarity with progressive art installment and display.  His fragmented drawings featuring segments of alien creature anatomy were hung in a scattered pattern in one of the galleries corners and appeared to be in the first phase of being blown apart by a bomb.  Also noteworthy were Cara Pfenningwerth’s bird paintings, which with their richly saturated colors, looked almost edible, and Staci Rowlison’s paintings reminiscent of children’s book illustrations, featuring a stuffed toy creature that she is developing for reproduction in more commercial media.  Nick McGuire’s dark drawings of flying, wine drinking rabbits also had strong book illustration influences, with an injection of mythology.

Upcoming exhibits include sculpture major Robmat Butler’s “Parable,” Nov. 2.  A native of Daytona Beach, Butler grew up amused by tourist kitsch, such as the “Florida Snow Globe,” which features tiny, floating plastic coal, a carrot and the top hat of a melted snowman.  He has created a series of snow globes that will contain both found objects and hand cast plastic objects that represent scenes from his childhood.

Julie Camarata’s Dec. 7 exhibit will feature new pieces in her series of two- and three-dimensional work, focusing on oilrigs and electrical towers.  She uses candy colors with a very plastic application to emphasize her underlying themes of toxic waste. The feedback she receives from the exhibit will influence the direction of this series.

Other upcoming exhibits will feature work by Michael Peters Nov. 9 and Victoria Lenne Nov. 13.

Whatever turns up on display at Gallery 1010, one can be sure the exhibitions are some of the more creative, challenging and playful coming from UT students.

Gallery 1010’s hours are noon to 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, and opening receptions are 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.