artists return to their roots

Two UT alumni are back in town, looking around at how much has changed since they studied here. Not an unusual scene in a university city. But these guys (former roommates) are back for a gallery show in their old stomping grounds- bringing paintings, sculpture, and LED light arrays.

Bill FitzGibbons and Creighton Michael met here in Knoxville back in the turbulent days of the late 1960s, becoming part of the counterculture art scene on campus. Together they started a clandestine magazine "The Druid" highlighting poetry, writing and art from students. After college, FitzGibbons ended up in San Antonio, via stints in St. Louis and Alaska. Micheal now resides in New York. Even though they haven't lived in the same city in decades, they have continued collaborating through the years, notably at the LAB Gallery in New York with "EELight" (pic above). Now their newest collaboration is coming back to where it all began.


Starting tonight, the Ewing Gallery (on campus at the A+A Building) is hosting "Filament" showcasing the latest endeavors of Fitzgibbons and Michael. Michael is the painter of the two, with a series of canvases exploring tension of texture and "mark making". FitzGibbons, the sculptor, has a huge steel piece (an abstract wormhole) and a series of "fire drawings"- basically using an welding torch to draw on canvas. In addition, he has set up a huge light sculpture using LED lights on the north wall of the KMA. If you're in downtown during the evening in the next few days, it's well worth a visit to watch the shifting color patterns. Probably the most interesting piece is the direct collaborative effort of the two... but you'll have to go tonight and experience it for yourself. They will lecture at 7:00 (lecture hall 109, just down from the gallery) with a reception to follow at the Ewing Gallery.

Knoxville launched the diverse careers of these two very interesting artists, and it's very fortunate to have them back sharing their talent with it.