Damian Priour
(1949-2011)
Damian Priour was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas on the Gulf of Mexico. In Austin he opened his Studio in 1984. He created a variety of small and large-scale sculptural public and private works in his chosen media of native Texas limestone and glass, which he used as a metaphor for water. His work is found in museum collections including the Corning Museum of Glass and the Austin Museum of Art, as well as private and corporate collections such as the Equitable Companies of New York and the new Texas Sculpture Garden in Frisco.
Damian is well known as the founder of The Texas Chair Project. He established The Global Chair Project, which raised funds for environmental causes and to benefit art education. His large-scale works are also represented in Public Art Collections all over Texas, including Austin Convention Center and Emmaus Catholic Church, and the Public Art Collections of Frisco, Grand Prairie, and Corpus Christi. During his Career he taught classes in creativity at the Pilchuck Glass School in Seattle and Centro del Arte in Monterrey, Mexico. He served as the Board Chairman of The Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Austin Museum of Art.
After living for a number of years outside of Austin, he was active in the effort to conserve the Texas Hill Country and worked intensively with his neighbors strategizing about protecting water quality, open spaces and scenic vistas. He was a founding member of the Hill Country Alliance and the Hamilton Pool Road Scenic Corridor Coalition.