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July 24, 2007

Faculty/Staff

Professor’s glass work now on display

The sculpture is near the mayor’s office in the Arlington Municipal Building.

Story by: Barbara Gelinas

The Shorthorn staff

The Shorthorn: Kyle Clothier

Art professor David Keens’ glass sculpture “Blue Figure” is on display at the Arlington Municipal Building. Keens has displayed work around the world and in 2007 was named the official Texas state artist in the 3-D category.

There is a “Blue Figure” in the lobby of the Arlington mayor’s office.

The figure is a glass-blown sculpture created by art professor David Keens. In 2007, he was named the official Texas state artist in the three-dimensional category.

“We are proud David Keens is here in Arlington,” said Renée MacQuaid, Arlington Special Projects Coordinator.

MacQuaid helped obtain the sculpture for the mayor’s office.

MacQuaid said she became familiar with Keens as a member of the Arlington Arts League when she took a tour of his studio with the group, watched Keens create and viewed some of his pieces.

After that tour, MacQuaid spoke to Keens about acquiring one of his works for the 2006-2007 Arts and Culture team of the Leadership Arlington program. After purchasing the work, the team donated it to the city, she said.

MacQuaid thinks having the sculpture in the Arlington Municipal Building is a good way to bring attention to Arlington artists.

“We have a lot of great artists in Arlington,” she said.

About 200 people pass the sculpture a day, said Gretchen White, Management Resources administrative assistant. She works at the lobby’s front desk, which is next to the piece.

The sculpture is on display in the third floor lobby to the Mayor and City Planner’s offices and the City Council Chambers. The location was chosen for security reasons and to keep it from being damaged, MacQuaid said.

White said she would like to see the sculpture displayed near the paintings donated by Allan Saxe, political science associate professor. The paintings, which hang in the hallway next to the lobby, include a Picasso lithograph and an artist’s proof of a Norman Rockwell painting.

Keens began teaching at the university in 1974. He originally taught metal sculpture and in the early 1990s began working with glass sculpture. He used a glass-blowing technique for “Blue Figure.”

Keens’ current projects are a combination of glass-blown tiles and kiln-forming. He chose one of those pieces to give to first lady Laura Bush when university officials asked him to present one of his works to her.

The newer pieces resemble ceramic mosaics but are combinations of fused-glass tiles called murrini, and each tile contains a pattern.

Currently, Keens is hard at work creating pieces for an upcoming one-man exhibit at the Arlington Museum of Art in July 2008.