Wichita artist wants to get people talking

Chris Brunner wants to get people thinking. The sculptor, who has been actively creating public art projects, private commissions and personal works for more than 35 years, has a message with his latest body of work. He hopes to engage a conversation about the different types of war.

“This group of work gives impressions about the different kinds of war that we involve ourselves in: war against people, war against the environment and so on,” he said. “I had done a couple of pieces a few years ago that were in the same vein. When I was getting ready for my latest show, everything had just gotten so crazy internationally and also nationally. Between school shootings, and beheadings of journalists by ISIS, and our ongoing problems in the Middle East and with Russia and Korea, I started thinking about the different ways that we go to war, and not just in the sense of the military. It’s also what we’re doing to the land we use.”

Brunner’s thoughts have manifested into a new body of 15 sculptures that will be on view during a Final Friday opening reception at Diver Studio on Commerce Street. The collection, which ranges in size, will span the bottom level of the gallery.

This will be Brunner’s first public art show since 2011, and the artist said he doesn’t often open himself up like this. His less political imprints can be seen all over the city, though, particularly along the Arkansas River near downtown. He was an artist consultant for the Douglas Avenue underpass project and also assisted with the design of the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview plaza, the USS Wichita Memorial, the Veterans Memorial and the Keeper of the Plains plaza.

“Those towers behind the Drury are the most reminiscent of the way my work generally looks,” Brunner said. “Most of the time, the city projects kind of dictate needing a softer voice than what I would normally do in my private work.”

Brunner builds his sculptures largely from steel, with many in this collection being mixtures of steel and limestone, steel and marble, and steel and granite. He said that most aren’t recognizable objects of any sort, but that they all have a story behind them.

“Generally, I have a vision of a way to demonstrate what I’m thinking about. Then I sketch and collect materials and start throwing things together and modifying as necessary,” he said of his creative approach.

“The titles to the works are also important. They kind of give you an inkling as to my thought process on any given work you’re looking at,” he said.

That’s apparent in his piece that doubles as the title for this show, “In the Hands of Fools.” It’s a commanding, obsidian-colored sculpture that evokes battlefield imagery.

Another work, “Prairie Surfing,” is a milder, white-colored wave-like structure that evokes more of Brunner’s conscientiousness around the environment. There is also a tribute to those serving in the armed forces.

“There’s a tall piece I’ve done called ‘Standing on the Edge of the World.’ It’s kind of a tall, skinny structure with a big shield at the front of it,” Brunner said. “It represents the men and women that we put in harm’s way every day of the year. They go out on a ledge and risk their lives.”

A few of the sculptures were formed earlier in the year, but most came together after the spring, when world events inspired much of his direction.

“I hope that it provokes more conversation about why we do the things that we do, and also how can we not do them as much,” Brunner said about his aspirations for the show. “Really, any time I can get people talking and spur a conversation through art, I feel I’ve accomplished what I have always tried to do.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2014 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Wichita artist wants to get people talking."