THE FOCUS

Founded by artist David Wolff, Knoxville's Fluorescent Gallery opened in the summer of 2005 as a neutral space to gather and talk about new and exciting work. Since that time, it has programmed large volume of experimental, innovative visual art exhibitions and gained a regional reputation as a bastion for contemporary visual art in East Tennessee. After 12 years, it's gaining momentum with a greater amount of traveling out-of-town shows coming to the gallery. The images of the gallery feature Thomas Wharton's...

My sculptures reflect the sensibility that an object stands as a momentary physical manifestation of an ongoing process. They provide evidence of unseen forces, and they point to the distinction between the human and the non-human. Throughout the natural world, unexpected complexity emerges from simple, persistent processes. Ben Butler, Old Growth, 2017, painted steel, 24' x 22' x 4' Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017 Ben Butler, Vertebrates, 2017, OSB board and douglas fir 2x4's, 8' x 38' x 31' Ben Butler,...

Every day we make countless attempts to memorialize our experiences. We snap photographs, collect souvenirs, and spend hours re-imagining past events. Collectively, we hoard objects in museums, build altarpieces, and canonize stories in books and theater. Through various forms of representation, we create surrogates for the irretrievable histories we long to preserve. However, efforts to present complete and accurate versions of history are often romanticized abstractions. Mary Laube, Studio Visit, November 2017 Mary Laube, Studio Visit, November 2017 Mary Laube, Studio Visit,...