Arts & Culture Alliance Presents “If Not Now, When?”

The Arts & Culture Alliance is pleased to present a new exhibition by artists Jake Livesay and Victor Schmidt entitled “If Not Now, When?”. Jake Livesay of Knoxville will show acrylic paintings, and Victor Schmidt of Nashville will display forged steel and brass sculptures. The simple saying “If not now, when?” reflects the artists’ desire to draw attention and enjoyment to their work in the present moment. The exhibition will be displayed at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville from February 3-24, 2012 with an opening reception as part of First Friday activities on February 3 from 5:00-9:00 PM. Jake Livesay has lived in all four time zones of the United States as well as one in Europe; one of the few identifiable products of his waning wanderlust. He moved to Tennessee in 2005 to finish graduate school in Applied Physics; he has since settled into a life and career as a nuclear non-proliferation researcher at Oak Ridge National Lab. He shares one son, Yuma, with Tovah Greenwood. Livesay tries to paint what he would like to see: colorful, obscure, intricate objects; animals; rhythms; thoughts; and wild guesses. “I hope my technique catches up to my vision of things,” he says. “In the meantime I will try not to allow my ineptitudes to become impediments toward finer expression.” For more information, visit http://jakelivesay.blogspot.com. Victor Schmidt has worked for nearly 40 years as a craftsman-metalsmith in media ranging from small sculptures and drawings to silver jewelry pieces to cast bronze. He studied iron forging with Patrick Boutillier at the Beaux-Arts School in Aix-en-Provence, France; he later studied with Sylvain Hairy and Luc Bonneau concentrating on sculpture and bronze casting at the Beaux-Arts School of Dijon. He lived in New York City for over 25 years, developing sculptural concepts and perfecting metal sculpting techniques while teaching metalworking at Pratt Institute. His work has shown in galleries and juried exhibitions throughout the Southeast and New York and appears in many private collections. “The world of objects can be as mysterious as the world of ideas,” he says. “I try to create a harmony, a bonding where the idea and the object become consenting and inspired partners. The more I work, the closer I feel I am getting to images that need no words and sculptures that need no explanation.” Schmidt now resides in Nashville where he works on metal sculpture full-time. For more information, visit www.victorschmidtsculpture.com. “If Not Now, When?” will be on display at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with additional hours on Saturday, February 4, from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM. For more information, please contact the Arts & Culture Alliance at (865) 523-7543, or visit the Web site at www.knoxalliance.com.