'Recent Works' Art Exhibit by Bryan Massey

“First Love” by Bryan Massey. (Alabaster.)

“Nautilus VII” by Bryan Massey. (Limestone and soapstone.)

“Nautilus VIII” by Bryan Massey. (Alabaster and soapstone.)

“The Jazz Player” by Bryan Massey. (Cast iron.)

Bryan Massey. (Photograph by Russell Cothren.)

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“The Jazz Player” by Bryan Massey. (Cast iron.)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In celebration of Black History Month, the University Libraries are hosting an exhibit of sculptures and shadowbox artworks by professor Bryan Winfred Massey Sr. in the lobby area of Mullins Library through the end of March.

Massey sculpted the Silas Hunt Memorial Sculpture, located between Old Main and the Pi Beta Phi Centennial Gate entrance. It was the first work of art commissioned by the university’s Public Art Oversight Committee.

“After many years perfecting my skill-set, creating three-dimensional work comes to me as naturally as breathing,” said Massey. “I hope viewers see the finished work as a unique three-dimensional solution.”

Massey is a professor of art at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. He is primarily a stone carver who works with a variety of stone including alabaster, soapstone, limestone, marble and granite. He also casts iron, bronze and aluminum as well as working in the fabrication of steel sculptures. He credits Henry Moore, Isamu Noguchi and Constantine Brancusi for their influence on his work.

He was recently selected as one of 84 artists nationally for inclusion in the book Studios and Work Spaces of Black American Artists. Massey’s sculpture, The Jazz Player, was selected and presented to former President Bill Clinton for the celebration and commemoration of the fifth-year anniversary of the Clinton Library in Little Rock in November 2009. It is now located in the Vogel-Schwartz Sculpture Garden in Little Rock. A native North Carolinian, Massey has lived in Arkansas since 1988 with his wife of 29 years, Delphine. They have two daughters and one son. His work has been exhibited around the world.