Brian Melton

Brian Melton (he/him), based in Knoxville, Tennessee, creates hand-carved wooden portraiture. “I love the challenge of wood,” says Brian, who often uses downed trees and found branches for his raw material. “Worm holes, knots, sap inclusions, punky areas, and even cracks from drying can work to show the real, un-photoshopped characteristics of people. The nature of imperfect wood also connects back to our heritage, our roots, as it draws me, personally, back to the folks who literally carved out a living in these hills.”

Since he began learning to carve, Brian has found a diverse community of woodcarvers and sculptors, both locally in and around Knoxville, and internationally. He joins the tradition of woodcarvers in Central Appalachia, exemplified by artists like Fred Carter and the Brasstown Carvers of North Carolina. Brian is also an example of how the dynamics of tradition in the twenty-first century often bring together artists separated by great distances, who nonetheless develop a unique culture of sharing knowledge through the internet.

In 2021, Brian showed his work in his first solo exhibition, Voices of Appalachia, at the Dogwood Arts Gallery in Knoxville. Brian is also a public school teacher and finds opportunities to share his love of art with his students by leading his school’s art club and creating instructional videos.

Brian will use his Emerging Traditional Artists Program award to travel to Italy and study under portrait sculptor Bruno Walpoth in Val Gardena—a community known for its woodcarving artists. He hopes to bring together the skills and traditions of Central Appalachia and Val Gardena in his own work.