KEARNEY — Visitors to the Health Science Education Complex are now greeted by a 250-pound, 50-foot colorful aluminum sculpture reminiscent of the Platte River.
“The River at Dawn” by Daniel Goldstein will be dedicated today at a public open house event at 4:30 p.m. on the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) campus.
The sculpture, created by San Francisco artist Goldstein, was installed in November. Goldstein’s woodblock prints, collages and sculptures have been exhibited in leading galleries and museums across the world. His large public sculptures are owned by numerous American and international corporations and municipalities, and displayed in plazas, lobbies, train stations and town squares across the U.S.
The Health Science Education Complex, which opened in 2015, enables students in the UNMC College of Nursing and UNMC College of Allied Health Professions to share classroom and lab spaces. The art project — a partnership between UNK, UNMC and the Nebraska Arts Council — is funded by the 1% For Art program that places art in Nebraska’s state buildings, colleges and University of Nebraska system. The 1% for Art law has been in effect since 1978 and generated more than $3.5 million in artwork for Nebraska’s state buildings, state colleges and university system.
In addition to the Goldstein piece, artwork inside the Health Science Education Complex also has been purchased from Nebraska artists James Bockelman, Berly Brown, Ben Darling, Gary Day, Stephen Dinsmore, Michael Farrell, Charles Guildner, Karen Kunc, Michael Larsen, Diane Lounsberry-Williams, Deborah Murphy, Christina Narwicz, John Spence, Barbara Takenaga and Bart Vargas.
Selected artwork was chosen by the 1% for Art Committee from the College of Allied Health Professions, College of Nursing, UNK, UNMC, the project agency, arts professionals and public constituents. The application and review process spanned seven months.
The dedication is free and open to the public.