Leslie Bruning has been an active creative artist for over fifty years, He received a BA Degree in Art from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1970, studied at Graz Center, Austria and received an MFA degree in Sculpture from Syracuse University in 1972. He served as a Professor of Art at Bellevue University from 1973 to 2011. He is a founding member and a partner in the Hot Shops Center, Omaha NE. He is also the owner of Bruning Sculpture, Inc., and a mold making, casting and fabrication studio that has artist clients across the country.
Bruning is an active participant, advocate, and organizer of Public Art Projects. He was a member of the J. Doe Project in Omaha and created the J. Doe form. He was a participants in Chicago’s Navy Pier exhibitions in 1998 and 1999, Omaha’s O! Art Project, and several other public art projects.
Bruning has had over 50 solo art shows, over 120 group or juried exhibitions, and completed more than 50 sculpture commission. He is represented in numerous collections across the country. He is regularly shown in numerous collections across the country. He has regularly shown in Chicago Sculpture International exhibitions and in the Chicago Sculpture Exhibition. His sculptures have been seen in outdoor exhibitions at cities in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas, California, and New York.
My sculpture for the past several years has focused on street conversations. We humans greet each other, we talk, we shun, we gesture or interact in numerous subtle ways. This is reflected in my work by the use of faces, images, words, colors and light patterns. I frequently use perforated steel to create transparencies and multiple intersecting images. I use programmed LED lighting and sometimes sound tracks powered by solar electric systems to make them really come alive in the dark. My intent is always to engage with viewing public to create more interaction. Fundamentally, I am a constructionist that makes use of wide variety of materials and a sharp eye for negative space.
