The Cameron University Department of Art, Music and Theatre Arts will pay homage to the late Benson Warren, a long-time faculty member who taught sculpture, design and various other art classes to CU students for 40 years, with a sculpture exhibition starting on Friday, April 22. “Collective Castings: An Homage to Benson Warren” will feature works created by Warren as well as one of his former students, Tanya Synar, and a former colleague and fellow sculptor, Robbie Barber.
The event will kick off at 6 p.m. with a visual lecture by Synar and Barber in the McCutcheon Recital Hall in the Music Building. The exhibition opening and reception will start at 7 p.m. in the Art Teaching Gallery, located in the Art Building.
In addition to sculptures by Warren, Synar and Barber, the exhibit will feature a photographic record of Warren’s works. His wife, Katherine Liontas Warren, has curated and mounted more than 30 photographs of Warren’s sculptures that are on display across the nation. Additionally, she has provided photos of the casting process and numerous articles about many of the public installations.
Warren, who retired in 2014 and passed away in 2021, was known for his large-scale steel and cast bronze public sculptures. A long-time member of the Texas Sculpture Symposium, his works are found in the collections of universities around the country, including Cameron. As a professor, he served as a mentor to countless art students, imparting his knowledge and wisdom while encouraging them to follow whatever path led them to a successful career in visual arts.
CU alumna Synar is an associate professor of sculpture at Texas Women’s University. Barber, who learned mold-making from Warren during a workshop at Midwestern State University, is a professor of art specializing in sculpture and 3D design at Baylor University. Works by both will be included in the exhibition.
“Collective Castings: An Homage to Benson Warren” is made possible by Cameron University Lectures and Concerts, the Leslie Powell Foundation and Katherine Liontas-Warren.
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