What
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) hosts an exhibit by the late artist Bernard Brenner, called “Weights + Shapes: Bernard Brenner Sculpture Collection.” The display features a collection of 40 metal sculptures that were donated in September 2008 to WPI by the family of Brenner, a noted sculptor and humanities professor at Drexel University. Most of his work, which is described as abstract and expressionistic, is in cast bronze or forged steel. Among the pieces to be displayed (in all, 73 were donated), 11 are small cast bronze pieces, which Brenner created after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, titled “Fallen Comrades.”
Who
Bernard Brenner, a painter and sculptor, worked for more than 10 years as a clinical psychologist for the Devereaux Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based school for children with mental disabilities. During this time, he conducted studies on the use of art in therapy. He later taught at the University of Pennsylvania, and for many years at Drexel University as a humanities professor. Most of his sculptures were created from the 1950s to the 1990s. Brenner, who died in 2004, completed more than two dozen public commissions, held more than 20 one-man shows, and exhibited in more than 100 group shows. Professor Diran Apelian, director of WPI’s Metal Processing Institute (the university exhibit’s sponsor), was Brenner’s student and colleague.
When
Now through Dec. 21; Opening reception Nov. 13, 4-6:30 p.m.
Where
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Gordon Library, Gladwin Gallery, 2nd floor, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, Mass.
