Akron Art Museum displays Don Drumm works for first time

Museumgoers can see three of Akron artist Don Drumm's sculptures on display at the Akron Art Museum for the first time, now through Oct. 16.

The three pieces are Drumm's "Warrior," a steel sculpture he created in 1957 at age 22, and two untitled pieces created in the 1960s, one sculpted out of bronze and the other aluminum.

Drumm's works, as well as Kiki Smith's "Seer (Alice 1)" — both from the museum's collection — are part of a temporary extension of the permanent gallery themed "The Otherworldly and the Fantastic." The exhibition focuses on post-World War I artists inspired by psychology, fantasy, science fiction and spirituality.

"For Akronites who are already familiar with Drumm's lively suns, faces and figures, these works can shed light on his early career," Associate Curator Jefferey Katzin said in a statement. "They come from a time when he was drawing fresh inspiration from ancient metalworking techniques, testing different materials and adventurously working with abstract shapes on a large scale."

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The gallery pieces can also serve as an introduction to Drumm's craft for those who don't know the iconic Akron artist's work, Katzin said.

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"Celebrating local artists and their contributions is very important to the Akron Art Museum," said Executive Director and CEO Jon Fiume. "The first person you think of when it comes to metalwork in Akron is Mr. Drumm."

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Drumm, 87, has been honored with the Ohio Designer Crafts' Lifetime Achievement Award, named by the Akron Beacon Journal as one of the "Outstanding Contributors of the Century" and was the first recipient of the Akron Area Arts Alliance's Outstanding Visual Artist award. He has also won the American Institute of Architecture's Artist and Craftsman Excellence award.

For the Akron Art Museum's centennial celebration, Drumm has crafted an original collection of pieces for the museum gift shop that will be unveiled for the holidays.

For more information, see akronartmuseum.org.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: See three Don Drumm scultpures at Akron Art Museum for first time