CPS Welcomes Sculpture

The College Preparatory School Celebrates the Installation of Bronze Sculpture by World-Renowned Artist, Bruce Beasley

Students enjoy new art on campus

The College Preparatory School announced Wednesday, September 14, 2005 the completion of the installation of local artist, Bruce Beasley's, sculpture Breakout II on the six-acre campus in Oakland. Donated by supporters of the school, the sculpture is the second in a series, with the first edition in the permanent collection at SFMOMA.

Designed to integrate into the everyday activities of the school, the sculpture stands on a 10' X 5' foot wide granite base, custom fabricated in China to display the 8-foot bronze work. The sculpture acts as an informal meeting area for students at the high school. "We chose this central location to allow students and faculty to integrate art into their daily activities, " states Dr. Murray Cohen, Head of CPS. "This piece stands vitally in the brown-shingle surrounding of the CPS campus and creates for our students an intriguing interaction of nature and abstract forms."

Bruce Beasley is an accomplished, award-winning artist with significant public installations including the State Capital, Sacramento, and City Hall in downtown Oakland. His most recent exhibition Sculpture by Bruce Beasley - A 45-year Retrospective, at the Oakland Museum of California, included over 75 pieces from private and his personal collections. As a young artist, Beasley developed complex technical mediums of cast clear acrylic and cast bronze, iron and aluminum to create challenging geometric sculptures. Beasley has been a pioneer in the use of the computer as a tool for creating sculpture. His work from over four decades has been exhibited in numerous countries around the world.

"Art is a visual, emotional communication," states Beasley; "having sculptures in the public is an essential part of that communication." Beasley has been active in the Oakland community for many years and is known and respected for his work in the Oakland art's community. "There is great significance for me personally to see artwork integrated into the CPS campus. As a long time resident of West Oakland and a UC Berkeley graduate, I am proud to see a school with a vision to integrate thought-provoking art into its everyday life on campus," noted Beasley.

Breakout II was inspired by Beasley's fascination with the structure of nature and complex shapes and with intersections in transition.

The College Preparatory School, a diverse independent high school with 325 students, is a community of students, teachers, and staff. Its purpose is to prepare our students for productive, ethical lives in college and beyond through a challenging and stimulating education in an atmosphere of consideration, trust, and mutual responsibility.


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