KMA

Knoxville Museum of Art
Location: Knoxville, TN


The current temporary exhibits at the Knoxville Museum of Art were excellent. I thought each exhibit was curated in a very professional manner. The entire museum was impressive.




I thoroughly enjoyed the "New Directions in American Drawing" exhibit. The pieces exhibited were not what you typically think of when you think of drawings. I think that was the curator's goal. I had never seen drawings like these before. Some were very large and detailed, which is not what I would normally expect. Some were so realistic that they could have easily been mistaken for a black and white photo. This exhibit made me reexamine some of my preconceived notions about drawing. Before today, I did not have a very high opinion of drawing. The KMA has changed my opinion.



A second exhibit that I really liked was "New Photography from the KMA Collection." This temporary exhibit was comprised of pieces from the KMA's permanent collection. It consisted of an eclectic mix of photography. I also thought it was smart of the KMA to create an exhibit based off of pieces they already owned. I really liked all of the photographs within this exhibit. They were all very different in style and technique. I especially liked "Untitled (ladies' man)" by Sarah Hobbs. The layout of the exhibit was also well done. It was all contained in a single room with the photographs hung at the same level around the entire room. There was also a seat provided in the middle of the room. I love it when museums provide a place to sit. Sometimes you just want sit and contemplate the art for a while.

There was also an showing of the east Tennessee student art competition. This exhibit consisted of hundreds of works of art which covered every inch of wall space. Although the show was a bit overwhelming in quantity, it was fascinating to see the works of blossoming young high school artists. It was a nice touch of amateur art, and it balanced well with the other exhibits.

I enjoyed my visit to the Knoxville Museum of Art. It is an art museum that is worthy of its accreditation. The quality of the exhibits was worth more than the $5 entrance fee suggested.