Story and Photography by Casey Perfetto
Ilana Lilienthal is one of the driving forces behind Knoxville’s emerging contemporary arts scene, breathing new life into Emory Place and bringing museum quality exhibitions to the heart of the city through Lilienthal Gallery. Her vision is rooted in a life shaped by global influences, beginning in Tel Aviv and spanning Europe, New York and Miami before ultimately finding a home in East Tennessee.
Born in Tel Aviv, Ilana grew up moving fluidly between Middle Eastern and European cultures. She spoke German and Hebrew, traveled extensively with her parents and spent countless hours absorbing medieval and Renaissance art in museums and historic churches across Italy and Germany. “I was painting on anything I could reach,” she recalls. “Art and history were always part of my life.” Those early experiences eventually led her to study art history, grounding her in the visual language that continues to influence her work today.
In the late 1980s, Ilana moved to New York City, drawn by the creative energy she had long dreamed of experiencing firsthand. The city’s gritty graffiti scene, along with a shifting cultural and spiritual undercurrent, became a significant influence on her early artistic development. She experimented more boldly with mixed media, mural work and large-scale installations that blended historical elements with contemporary techniques.
Her journey continued to Florida in the mid 1990s where she established herself in the Miami art community and played an integral role in the early development of Wynwood. At the time Wynwood was not yet the global destination it is today, but Ilana was part of the cohort that helped lay its creative foundation. “When my world started to change, I changed with it,” she says. “There will always be a historic base in my work, but I enjoy bringing those influences into the modern world.”
Her move to Knoxville began during the many road trips she and her husband Chef Avi Zenatti loved to take together. Avi, a Moroccan and Israeli native chef known for his modern Mediterranean cuisine, had already built a successful culinary career and travel was a natural part of their life. On one of their road trips through Knoxville, they decided to spend real time exploring the city. They walked its neighborhoods, met the people and discovered a community that felt both grounded and creative. “We walked around and fell in love with the place,” Ilana says. “The people are very smart and family oriented. You feel the history here. When you understand your history, you can enjoy your present and look toward the future.”
Once they chose to make Knoxville home, Avi brought his own creative imprint to downtown. He opened Kopita Vegan in 2019, the first vegan restaurant in downtown Knoxville, followed by Kopita Meat during the pandemic. His bold Mediterranean flavors and multicultural approach mirror Ilana’s artistic philosophy and together their work has added a vibrant international perspective to Knoxville’s growing arts and culture landscape. The couple purchased a downtown apartment, later sold their home in Florida during the pandemic and rooted their family fully in Knoxville.
Once in Knoxville, Ilana began searching for a space to create and curate. Gay Street offered foot traffic, but the spaces did not align with her vision. Then she discovered Emory Place, a historic square with a European feel, walkable, intimate and architecturally distinct. When she purchased the block in 2021, several of the historic buildings needed thoughtful updates and careful restoration. Ilana invested significantly in revitalizing the spaces, honoring their original character while elevating them to support a new generation of creative businesses. Her tenants are entirely women led creative businesses and the block has become a nucleus for art, fashion, design and community collaboration. Projects like KnoxWalls at Emory Place, a public art initiative developed in partnership with Dogwood Arts, have already helped put the area on the cultural map.
Lilienthal Gallery opened in 2022 as the centerpiece of Ilana’s vision for Emory Place. Inside the restored historic space, her global perspective comes to life through museum like exhibitions that feature contemporary artists from China, Germany, Israel, Brazil, Azerbaijan and beyond along with select national and local creators. Sculptures, abstract paintings, photorealistic works and immersive installations create a diverse international dialogue. “I wanted to bring Knoxville an art scene people haven’t experienced yet,” Ilana explains. “I’m not showing décor. I want to attract collectors. Most of my artists have work in major collections around the world.”
The gallery’s current exhibition, Her: Women Artists Modern and Contemporary, is a powerful reflection of Ilana’s lifelong interests. Curated in collaboration with Gallery Director Kelly Ferguson, the exhibition highlights foundational and emerging women artists whose work explores the many dimensions of womanhood. Her features celebrated voices including Judy Chicago, Jenny Saville, Swoon, LaKesha Lee, Li Daiyun, Denise Stewart Sanabria, Angela Fraleigh and Ilana herself. The works span movements from second wave feminist art to contemporary explorations of the divine feminine, motherhood, memory and resilience. Together the artists reclaim narratives historically shaped by male dominated institutions and elevate women as both makers and muses. “We want to recognize women,” Ilana says. “For so long they were the models. They were also artists, but people did not always know their names.”
For Ilana, the purpose of the gallery reaches far beyond any single exhibition. She wants Knoxville to feel connected to the wider world of contemporary art without needing to travel to New York, Miami or Europe to experience it. Her growing art consultancy and community partnerships underscore that mission, helping collectors build meaningful collections, guiding public art projects and supporting regional organizations committed to cultural enrichment.
“People should not have to fly across an ocean to see great art,” Ilana says. “Knoxville deserves beautiful spaces filled with meaningful work. If we can create that and offer people a place where they feel connected, then we are doing something important for this city.”