Artwork by BJ Clark
January 2–31, 2026 @ Arts & Culture Alliance
The Arts & Culture Alliance presents four new exhibitions at the Emporium Center in downtown Knoxville.
(Re)Discovering Knoxville: Artwork by B. J. Clarkin the upper gallery
The Arts & Culture Alliance displays a collection of artwork by B. J. Clark and other artists as part of an auction culminating Friday, Jan. 23. Proceeds from this sale fund services for individual artists of the Arts & Culture Alliance. Artwork in the online auction may be viewed in person during gallery hours at the Emporium through the auction close at 6 p.m.,Friday, Jan.23.
Native Knoxvillian B. J. Clark is an award-winning artist whose honors, awards and affiliations include Dogwood Art Regional Art Exhibition, East Tennessee Historical Society, Fountain City Art Center Open Show, Knoxville Watercolor Society, Oak Ridge Art Center Regional Show, Tennessee Artists Association, Tennessee Watercolor Society, Kentucky Watercolor Society National Exhibitionand Boston Massachusetts National Exhibition.
She is a former Webb School librarian who received her BFA from Louisville School of Arts and continued studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her paintings are included in private collections throughout the United States and abroad and are included in over 110 corporate collections including the Gannett Foundation, William B. Stokely Foundation, Bechtel-Jacobs Corporation, Home Federaland TVA. Notable private collections include Walter Cronkite, former Congressman Jimmy Duncanand actor/singer Pat Boone as well as four Ambassadors. She has been honored with over 20 one-woman shows and is widely known for her “Historic Knoxville” original and print series. In 1998 she was selected for lifetime membership in Who’s Who National Registry. In 2007 herSecret Garden Vpainting was selected for a Mother’s Day card with all proceeds going to Mobile Meals, raising over $37,000.
Clark painted mainly in watercolor but also enjoyed pastel, pen and ink drawings, acrylic, and mixed media. “I want my paintings to evoke a feeling, and to be a tangible, visible reference to that feeling,” said B. J. Clark. “One which can be revisited many times and remain fresh and vibrant.”
Read more:https://www.knoxalliance.com/bjclark/
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission: 11th Gallery of Arts Tributein the lower gallery
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission is partnering with the Arts & Culture Alliance to provide the 11th annual juried exhibition developed to recognize local artists and, most importantly, honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The new exhibition features works by local artists reflecting the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and have pertinence to the themes of Unity, Community, Love, Reconciliation, Social Justiceand Civil Rights. The MLK Gallery of Arts Tribute exhibition will kick-off the 2026 celebrations (Jan. 14-19).
https://mlkknox.org/|https://www.facebook.com/mlkknoxville
Crue Smith: Winter’s Gapin the display case
"I’ve spent my life as an observer on the sidelines, assessing the culture as I wander through it. Doing my best to cut through the noise, I tried to find out where we are as a country, and where I fit in as an individual. I don’t think we really know what we want anymore. Maybe we’re running out of stuff to get.
"These photographs were taken in the spring of 2025 of the town of Oliver Springs, Tennessee. It was a resort town, a coal town, and played a West Virginian town in the film, 'October Sky.' Learning about the town’s history, I gathered that Oliver Springs has gone through many changes, has had many struggles, and has had many lives. However ... it still remains,: Smith says about this offering.
Crue Smith is a filmmaker and photographer from Knoxville. His short films, 'Two-Fifty" and "Borrowers and Lenders," have played at the Nashville Film Festival. His feature film "Angel of Light" premiered at the 2024 Soho Film Festival, played at Film Fest Knox, and won Best Drama at the Another Hole In the Head Festival in San Francisco.
Instagram: @cruessmith
Keith Bryant: The Panax Herbarium and The Monolith Assemblagein the Atrium
"Drawing upon my training as a glass blower, wood workerand bicycle mechanic, I combine skills from seemingly disparate disciplines to create multi-media sculptures out of layered wood, glass, bike parts, family heirloomsand found objects. Through my art, I seek to make a positive environmental impact by upcycling discarded bicycle parts and other items to give them new purpose and keep them out of landfills. As an avid mountain biker, I spend a lot of time outdoors and draw inspiration from nature. Through my art, I combine my admiration for both the mechanical and natural. In my work, I blend and balance natural and fabricated elements, showing how each has function and beauty both individually and collectively.
"The Panax Herbarium:A specimen collection of the varying types ofPanaxfound in Middle Earth. It is an herb used to cure poison, bleeding and elemental effects.
"The Monolith Collection:For this collection I was inspired by the idea of traveling through a fantasy, Medieval-type landscape and coming across these giant monoliths. These sculpted, boundary markers would be at the outskirts of a city honoring its most valued enterprise or signifying the beginning of a new territory. These works are how I envisioned they would look," says Bryant
Keith Bryant was born near Cleveland, Ohio, and began working with soft glass in high school with a focus on bowls, vasesand other vessels. In addition to taking classes at Kent State University, he received training from glass artist Earl James and other artists at the Glass Bubble Project in Cleveland, Ohio. He expanded his skill set by learning lamp working to create marbles and beads. In 2004, Bryant was drawn to woodworking after members of his family began playing Native American Flutes and joined the Northeast Ohio Native American Flute Circle. Under the tutelage of Billy Crowbeak Faluski, he made handcrafted wooden flutes primarily using North American hardwoods. As he continued to refine the sound of his flutes, he also made increasingly ornate pieces, burning designs into the wood and incorporating glass inlay, sculptural wood elements, found objectsand his own Pyrex glass work. Bryant began training as a motorcycle mechanic in 2007, graduating with honors from the PowerSport Institute in Cleveland a year later. He worked for several years as a motorcycle mechanic before transitioning into working with bicycles and noticed a large amount of waste generated. He began collecting discarded bike components and other materials to see if he could incorporate them into his artwork. He combines his areas of training to create mixed-media sculpture from wood, glass, bike parts, family heirlooms, and found objects. Bryant currently resides in Knoxville and works with local bike shops and carpenters to collect waste materials for his art and keep them out of landfills. Through his artwork, he enjoys showing others how items can be upcycled and repurposed.
Instagram @kwbryantart
The exhibitions are on display Jan. 2-31, at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, Tennessee. In January, the Emporium is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 24 and 31 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.,with additional hours: Friday,Jan 23 and Jan 30, from 5-7 p.m., for Gallery 1010 openings. The Emporium is closedMonday, Jan. 19, for the holiday.
Many of the works on exhibition are for sale and may be purchased by visiting in person or the online shop athttps://www.knoxalliance.store. For more information, seehttps://www.knoxalliance.comor call (865) 523-7543.
Category: Exhibits