7.26.23

Shock Art

Chris Brunner ’79 has left a physical mark on the landscape of downtown Wichita with his large-scale public art, which is impossible to miss if you’ve walked the pathways bordering the Arkansas River. In addition to crafting the towers encircling Drury Plaza, he was a lead artist consultant on the River Corridor project. This included the Keeper Plaza Interpretive Wall, the Veteran’s Memorial and the U.S.S. Wichita Memorial.

Brunner completed his Master of Fine Arts at Wichita State, which he credits with helping him learn how to keep learning with each project. “Everything I build is a challenge – I always end up doing something I’ve never done that way before, which goes back to that learning curve,” he says. “Setting challenges for yourself is part of what keeps you moving forward.”

This spring, Brunner’s sculpture “The Entrepreneur” – 8’ x 3’, limestone and steel – was unveiled in Woolsey Hall, where only art with a Kansas connection was selected to reside. “The Entrepreneur” stands sentinel at the entrance to Woolsey’s Frank A. Boettger Auditorium. The sculpture captures the bold essence of the entrepreneurial journey many students will take, with blocks of limestone representing a strong foundation, a steel framework of challenges to overcome and unevenly spaced ladder rungs reflecting the upward climb of an entrepreneur, who stands tall in the midst of it all.

To Brunner, being an artist is the key to appreciating the many things that make a life. “Art, in every form, is what elevates our lives. It’s why you crank up your music and go to the ballet or the movies. It’s seeing a painting at a museum or in someone’s home that gives you the opportunity to start a conversation. Art is a part of life.”

Brunner resides in Wichita with his wife, Sonia Greteman ’82.