Gallery Hop showcases local talent - Sept. 7

photo The pottery of Jeff Rogers will be displayed at Graffiti Gallery during Gallery Hop along with metal artwork by Haitian artists under the sponsorship of Epple Seed Arts, an arm of Beyond Borders.

IF YOU GO• What: Gallery Hop• When: 2-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7• Where: 22 galleries in Chattanooga• Admission: Free• Website: www.avagalleryhop.com

photo This untitled work by Michelle Kimbrell is part of the "Fresh" exhibit.

Twenty-one galleries are opening their doors Saturday afternoon, Sept. 7, as part of Gallery Hop, offering visitors a chance to see the creative process at work.

Gallery Hop is an annual, self-guided tour of studios and galleries around town sponsored by the Association for Visual Arts. Participants may pick up a map of the 21 Hop stops at any of its participants. Moving at their own pace, visitors can meet local artists and watch them at work or admire finished pieces hung in exhibits installed especially for Gallery Hop.

For artists, Gallery Hop is a chance to get their names out and develop relationships with new patrons. For hoppers, it's a chance to meet up with friends, spend an enjoyable afternoon together browsing downtown galleries while learning who and what is new among the variety of local talent.

Graffiti Gallery in Hill City is combining its first anniversary celebration with Gallery Hop. To mark the occasion, owner David Jones has planned an exhibit by potter Jeff Rogers, a former Chattanoogan who now lives in Miami. Also on view will be an exhibit of metalwork made by Haitian artists through Epple Seed Arts program, an arm of Beyond Borders nonprofit.

AVA will open its 2013 Fresh Emerging Artist Exhibition in conjunction with Gallery Hop. According to Lauren Goforth, AVA director of education and exhibitions, "Fresh" is a juried exhibit designed to give new artists exposure in the early stage of their careers. Only artists who reside in the Southeast and have not had a major solo show or do not have gallery representation are eligible to exhibit.

"Since its inception, 'Fresh' has attracted some of the most technically sound and artistically innovative emerging talent in the Southeast, and this year will be no different," says Goforth.

Chattanoogans selected to show in "Fresh" are Marc Boyston, Ken Herrin, Michelle Kimbrell, Terry Lindstrom and Stephen Nemecek. Other artists included are Travis Head of Blacksburg, Va.; Ariel Lavery of Murray, Ky.; Bonnie Vetterick of Knoxville; Jake Weigel of Oxford, Miss.; and Sunni Zemblowski of Americus, Ga.

New for this year's Gallery Hop is the chance to win an Instant Art Collection, featuring art from participating galleries. To be eligible, according to Goforth, a hopper must visit at least 10 galleries on the tour, get an entry card stamped at each, then turn in the card before the hop stops at 8 p.m. A winner will be drawn from those who complete their cards.

Contact staff writer Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.

PARTICIPATING GALLERIES

• Area 61, 61 E. Main St.

photo Carved American kestrel by Sunni Zemblowski of Americus, Ga., is part of the "Fresh" exhibit at AVA during Gallery Hop.

• Art at the Incubator, 100 Cherokee Blvd.

• Artifact, 1080 Duncan Ave.

• Atelier 18, 18 Eighth St.

• AVA, 30 Frazier Ave.

Opening of "Fresh," annual juried exhibit of emerging artists in the Southeast, coincides with Gallery Hop. Exhibit continues through Oct. 25.

• Chambliss Art Connect, 605 Chestnut St., Suite 1700 (Liberty Tower)

• Chattanooga Workspace, 302 W. Sixth St.

• Gallery 1401, 1110 Market St.

• Graffiti Gallery, 629 Spears Ave.

On view: Exhibit of works by Ellyn Bivin, Fennel Blythe, James McKissic, Jim Tucker, Larry Young, Tony Mraz, Tony Russo, Donyale Gibbs and Eric Riggs ends Sept. 7.

• Hart Gallery, 110 E. Main St.

• Ignis Glass Studio and Gallery, 409 Broad St.

• In-Town Gallery, 26 Frazier Ave.

On view: "Flavor of the Market," a collection of new acrylic paintings on canvas by Jennie Kirkpatrick, depicting colorful marketplace scenes, fruit and vegetable still lifes, through Sept. 30. Opening reception is 5-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6.

• Miki Boni Studio, 1611 Mitchell Ave.

• Open Press, 1271-B Market St.

• Plum Nelly, 330 Frazier Ave.

• River Gallery, 400 E. Second St. Opening reception for September exhibit, "Journeys," 6:30-8 p.m., with artists Betty MacDonald of Virginia and Mitch Yung of Missouri.

• Shuptrine's Gold Leaf Designs, 2646 Broad St.

• Tanner Hill Gallery, 3069 Broad St.

• Townsend Atelier, 201 W. Main St. Opening reception for "Women Painting Women: (R)evolution," 2-9 p.m., and Art Throw Down painting demonstration by artists/instructors Cindy Procious and Mia Bergeron, with their creations auctioned off at 8 p.m.

• UTC Cress Gallery of Art, 752 Vine St. On view: Department of Art Faculty Exhibition, through Oct. 4.

• Winder Binder Gallery & Bookstore, 40 Frazier Ave.

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