Jolley on his art’s scale, history and private ‘parts’

Artist Richard Jolley taking questions during the Knoxville Museum of Art’s Artist’s Luncheon at Blackberry Farm.

Every year, in connection with its huge wine auction fundraiser called L’Amour du Vin, the Knoxville Museum of Art has an Artist’s Luncheon at Blackberry Farm showcasing the weekend’s featured artist. Since an epic glass and steel installation by Knoxville’s own Richard Jolley is set to open in May, it makes perfect sense that he was this year’s artist.

The over-the-top luncheon also highlights the featured wines of the auction weekend, in this case the wines of Kosta Browne Winery from Sonoma County.

Jolley, a laid-back and self-deprecating charmer who has been working in the studio on equipment he constructed since 1975, shared several insights about himself, his art, and art in general.

• Jolley works in series. In the 1990s, he made a series of busts. Then it was line sketches. Then totems. In the 2000s, he started doing large two-dimensional works. “With each series, I try to develop new techniques,” he explained. “My works don’t have specific narratives but, hopefully, they are universally understood.”

• Since his human figures have what he laughingly referred to as “parts” — meaning anatomically correct body parts — an exhibit of his work at the Tennessee State Museum had to be reviewed by the state’s attorney general to be sure it was acceptable. The museum ended up isolating in a roped-off area a number of his glass figures with the “parts” in question and only allowed adults to view them.
• Some years ago, he got great experience working in large scales when the Knoxville Opera Company commissioned him to create the set for Mozart’s opera, “The Magic Flute.” From that he learned, “If something is correctly proportioned, it works on any scale.”
• Raised in Oak Ridge, Jolley said he “should have become an engineer or a lawyer.” But in his freshman year of college, he took an art class just to cross it off his list of required courses, and that’s when he knew he was going to be an artist.
  

  These tiny quail legs with “Alabama sauce” were passed during a reception prior to Jolley’s talk.

• For the past five years, almost all the work he’s done has related in some way to the mammoth “Cycle of Life” installation — valued at over $1 million — that will be going into the Knoxville Museum of Art’s 3,500-square-foot Great Hall. When it is finished, it will be the largest figural glass assemblage in the world.
• The piece has been “designed in modules,” Jolley said, in order for it to be able to physically fit into the museum. Even so, workers had to pop out one of the museum’s huge windows to allow the pieces to be brought inside.

After Jolley spoke for about 20 minutes and answered questions, it was time to adjourn onto the sun porch of The Barn at Blackberry Farm to experience the impeccable food and wine pairings and hear from the guest vintner.

Upon our arrival at The Barn, Alex Leyva gave us very tasty blood orange vodka spritzers. Yum.

This was my favorite appetizer: a hoe cake with trout eggs and creme fraiche.

June Heller, left, and Dottie Irwin enjoying those blood orange spritzers.

Cathy Hill, center, with Carole and Bob Martin

Here is one of the beautiful tables on the sun porch.

The centerpieces were just simple sprigs of forsythia. (I love this plant because it is one of the early harbingers of spring. But I like to call it “For Cynthia!” ‘Ha.)

Are lady bugs a harbinger of something? Because there are a lot of them this year — including this one that was crawling on a menu.

Susan Hawthorne, left, and and Jan Peter

The Barn on the chargers at The Barn!

My “dates:” Dawn Ford, left, and Rosemary Gilliam

Jackie Wilson, left, and Charleene Edwards

This dish, roasted South Carolina Shrimp, pickled vegetables, lemon mascarpone and sherry vinegar, was a masterpiece. The pairing with Kosta Browne One Sixteen chardonnay from Russian River Valley 2012 was perfect — even for a chardonnay hater like me.

Andy Chabot, Blackberry’s sommelier and director of food and beverage, doing the honors. “How did you know we wanted more?” someone at our table asked. “Your glasses were empty!” he replied.

Michael Browne of Kosta Browne told us a little bit about his wine.

Kosta Browne produces 14 wines — 13 pinot noirs and one chardonnay. Browne said he started in the business “on a wing and a prayer.” A former server, sommelier and line cook in Sonoma, he decided in 1997 to try his hand at wine making. He produced one barrel that year. Now he produces 20,000 cases a year.

“We are just trying to produce something delicious, like music,” he said. “We want to make a wine that ‘sounds good’ on your palate. One that improves your day or evening. Like a nice, cozy blanket over your tongue.” The challenge — and the fun — of wine producing, he said, is “trying to get all the grapes to mature at one time and pick them on the right day.”

The main course: Eden Farms pork loin and crispy shoulder served with farro piccolo, Carolina rice, carrots, scallions and black garlic. It was paired with a 2012 Kosta Browne pinot noir from Russian River Valley.

Chef Patrick O’Connell and Jolley’s wife, Tommie Rush, herself a glass artist. O’Connell is the chef and proprietor at The Inn at Little Washington in Virginia. He was in charge of the food at L’Amour du Vin, to be held the following evening.

Jayne and Myron Ely

Carolyn Wrenkowski, left, and Cindy Hindman

Knoxville Museum of Art Curator Stephen Wicks, left, with Gerry and Brian Donaldson

Jan and Sylvia Peters

Dessert was Blackberry Farm’s Singing Brook Cheese with Marcona almond sorbet and verjus granita. Interesting.

From left, Richard Jolley; Kreis Beall, the founder of Blackberry Farm; and Michael Browne

Dawn and Rosemary saying goodbye to Joseph Lenn, executive chef of The Barn at Blackberry Farm. Dawn has known him since he was a childhood playmate of her son, Christopher.