By Museum of Nebraska Art
KEARNEY, Neb. – On Thursday, March 26, the Museum of Nebraska Art will open its doors with a new exhibition, Brian Corr: Of Light and Shadow, featuring the work of current Hastings College Associate Professor Brian Corr in the second-floor rotating gallery.
This will be Corr’s first solo museum exhibition and will include work spanning the last twenty years of his career. Corr works with glass, creating sculptures and large-scale installations.
In 2018, Corr received a PhD from the Australian National University, writing his dissertation on the aesthetic and philosophical elements of contemplative space in Japanese architecture. This research continues to impact his creative work, as he strives to create sculptures and installations that evoke contemplative experiences.
MONA's show is anchored by the earliest work, an architectural installation dating to 2007 titled One. This work was initially made and exhibited in Corr’s Master’s thesis show, also with the Australian National University. It was exhibited a second time at another venue in Australia, making this the first time the work has been shown in the United States.
As part of the exhibition, MONA has partnered with Scott Drickey of Miles Wide Pictures in Omaha to produce and direct a short video documentary about artist Brian Corr, his work and the upcoming show. The video will be released on MONA’s YouTube later this spring.
About the Artist:
Brian Corr creates sculpture and large-scale installations which explore perceptual liminality as a means of facilitating contemplative experience. By activating light and shadow through the ordering of volume and void, his work seeks to embody a sense of the profound and the transcendent.
Brian was awarded a PhD from the Australian National University. His research examined the aesthetic and philosophical elements of contemplative space in Japanese architecture.
His work is held in numerous public and private collections throughout the world, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the Toledo Museum of Art and the Denver Art Museum.
Brian is also a skilled glassblower with thirty years of experience. He has taught extensively at schools including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Penland School of Crafts, the Pilchuck Glass School, the JamFactory, Namseoul University, Sydney College of the Arts and the Australian National University.
After working and studying in Australia for nearly twelve years, Brian served as an Associate Professor at the prestigious Toyama City Institute of Glass Art in Toyama, Japan. He is currently an Associate Professor and serves as the Department Chair in the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center at Hastings College.
Image credit: Brian Corr, One, 2007, kiln-formed, blown and cold worked glass, steel, collection of the artist.
About The Museum of Nebraska Art
The Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) celebrates the history of Nebraska’s visual art for diverse audiences. MONA collects, preserves, researches, exhibits and interprets the work of artists who were born, lived, trained, or worked in Nebraska or who created artworks that reflect the culture of Nebraska.
As the home of Nebraska’s official state art collection, the Museum of Nebraska Art endeavors to be the cultural center for Nebraska art and artists by providing quality exhibitions and programs and expanding its collection.
In addition to collecting and preserving art, MONA provides scholarly, educational, and outreach programming and actively pursues opportunities for ongoing community engagement. MONA’s education and engagement initiatives include tours and hands-on workshops for thousands of students and adults each year, leading audiences to a greater understanding of the artwork on display and of their own lives and experiences.
MONA is open 6 days a week. Admission is free.