Space: The Final Frontier

Home Show, at Ironwood Studios Gallery, July 20, Space Craft grand-opening.

A warm environment welcomed visitors into the the opening of Spacecraft’s Home Show, both literally and figuratively. Creative energy is swirling around the vortex of a small square room in the Happy Holler community of North Knox. A number of arts organizations have called this space their home base and others have had pop-up shows there, in the room adjacent to Ironwood Studios, located at 119 Jennings Avenue, Knoxville, TN.

Y’all, we can do whatever the fuck we want!”

✰

Y’all, we can do whatever the fuck we want!” ✰

Jaleria Rivera, founder of Space Craft

Jaleria Rivera has been incubating this project for over two years. She is a Transnational Fusion Dancer and Storyteller who dreamed of a community space where artists can work alongside each other, exploring their work without censure. Spacecraft is welcoming to all with an emphasis on queer and BIPOC folks, to bring in those who feel othered and replace that with a sense of joyful community.

In her introductory statements, Rivera said, “Do you know how hard it is to find a space we can take up? There are a lot of spaces in this world where I feel I am not desired or wanted… So now I am creating this space for other brilliant and talented people and artists. Y’all, we can do whatever the fuck we want!”

This declaration was met with cheers from the crowd, many artists and creators themselves. The attitude throughout the evening was heartfelt and joyous, an aspect of Jaleria’s core values, practicing activism through joy. She referenced Bell Hooks’ All About Love as an inspiration for her. Spacecraft is now open for membership to the studio co-op, which engages with a Next Economy Structure. More information can be found on their website here. 

The evening followed a multimedia pattern of mingling and enjoying the visual art with intermittent video viewings of artists ‘studio crib tours’ and live music, poetry readings, and performance art. Curated by Steph Wadman, Home Show’s visual art spanned from 2D work in textile, paint, mixed media, fluorescent interactive pieces, and even a conceptual performance piece. The room was set with lamps, couches, and rugs to create an environment of ‘home’. Several sculptural works, fashion pieces, and video media were also included, making this show diverse in genre, theme, visuals, and aesthetic. It highlighted Knoxville’s burgeoning arts scene, displaying the talent and challenging artworks that aren’t always displayed at the forefront of the local scene. 

Kelsi Walker singing original song Shoes.

The show featured Amanda Mohney, Ame Houston, Bryanna Ezell, Chase Williamson, Chloe Melton, Cleo Taurus, Emily Helton, Emmet Weaver, Jake Ingram, J. Bush, Jared Gottschal, Jasper Rivera, Jess Wright, Kelsi Walker, Kira Suerth, Olivia Licht, Rachel Coyle, Tayrn Ferro, and Ty Murray.

The dreamy work of Rachel Coyle, In the Desert I Wept (Oil on Canvas, 3x4’), dipped into a surreal landscape, with disembodied eyes floating in the sky, dissolving into a pool of sky and moon which hovers over a craggy rock face. Ty Murray’s X-Ray Spex (textile and acrylic paint, 40x40”) revisits a rich heritage of quilting with bold graphic hands painted in white, embracing the patterns of black and white granny squares safety pinned on to the center of the piece. Another textile wall-hanging, Coming and Going, by Jake Ingram encapsulated the lighthearted quality of the show, with a subdivided bearded fish, split into a recurring motif.

Painting by Chase Williamson

The star of the show was Chase Williamson’s luminous figurative works of radiant women, basking in natural light. Like goddesses, they reclined in water, posed alongside neoclassical sculpture, and contemplated unknown thoughts, set against a backdrop of greenery. The technical rendering is well-practiced and elevated, dewy skin is delicately painted in a realistic style, it vividly depicts the women having just emerged from the bright blue waters of an ethereal landscape. Pulsing with both tranquility and power, their steady presence evokes feminine energy.

Painting by Chase Williamson

Later in the evening, the performance piece of Cleo Taurus set a different mood of the evening. In the sense of pushing the envelope and challenging Knoxville tastes, this was much more of a New York scene styling. The performer began unexpectedly, writhing under a fitted sheet in the middle of the gallery space. When the artist kicked up their legs, baring underwear beneath a unicorn nightgown, they set a marked difference in the performance’s tone.

Cleo called out from beneath the amorphous sheet and invited someone named ‘Kyle’ to come play. After several calls into the silent room, it was realized that ‘Kyle’ was any audience member brave enough to crawl between the Cleo’s legs under the sheet. Secrets were whispered and giggled for a moment shared alone in that hidden, yet prominent space, then the volunteer would emerge. The artist, representing a child would hum, and play, and wail then emerge the blanket, walking backwards, turn off a lamp, turn it back on. The scene was repeated four times to the silent audience with only the static from a television artwork buzzing in the background.

Cleo Taurus performing with an audience member underneath a fitted sheet.

It was a difficult performance to watch, bringing tension to the room, as the scene evoked sexual undertones. The words screamed from under the blanket “DON’T TELL” made my skin crawl, bringing the audience into the experience assumingly that the artist may have suffered. Performance art is not my forte, so I can only come to the bare conclusions of a blind observer. Although I would have preferred a warning about the theme of the performance, it was an avant-garde edition to the opening– a performance reminiscent of the 1960’s era controversial happenings (think Marina Abramovich).

Oliva Licht, 100 Books

This performance was set to the background of a quietly crackling tv, a sculptural installation by Olivia Licht titled 100 Books. The repeated visuals in black and white showed a woman reading an actively burning book in front of the same tv and seated on the same chair that viewers sat on. Below the television, a collection of dystopian books were neatly arranged, like Dune, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, and 1984. Licht’s video art is salient at a time when book bans litter legislation across the country.

The event closed out with more energy, another musical performance from artist J. Bu$h and a group dance led by Jaleria Rivera. Overall, this was an encouraging genesis for Space Craft, exhibiting the talents of Knoxville artists who are little provided a stage in the established art scene.

Historically, significant schools of thought and artistic movements are born of collaborative groups like Space Craft, places where creatives can stimulate each other and drive innovation. I look forward to watching the growth of an important space for artistic creation and inspiration.