Sculptures by Bryan Massey

In celebration of Black History Month, the University Libraries are hosting an exhibit of sculptures by Professor Bryan Winfred Massey, Sr., in the lobby area of Mullins Library through the end of February.

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

Massey is a professor of art at the University of Central Arkansas, Conway. He is primarily a stone carver working 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 Little Rock Sculpture Garden. A native North Carolinian, he’s been living in Arkansas since 1988 with his wife of 26 years, Delphine. They have two daughters and one son. His work is exhibited internationally, nationally and regionally.