Sculptor Albert Paley will speak about his work at 7 p.m., Wednesday, September 12, at the Carnegie Library Museum, 1123 Willis Avenue, Perry. Paley’s talk is in conjunction with an exhibition of his art, Albert Paley: Portals and Gates. The exhibition, consisting of more than 50 works, runs from August 20 through January 15, 2008, at three different venues, including Hometown Perry, Iowa, and the Christian Petersen Art Museum and Brunnier Art Museum at Iowa State University. Paley, creator of the Reconfiguration Arches at Soumas Court in Perry, is the first metal sculptor to receive the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Architects, the AIA’s highest award to a non-architect. He has been active as an artist for more than 30 years. Commissioned by both public institutions and private corporations, Paley has completed more than 50 site-specific works. Some notable examples are the Portal Gates for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, and the Portal Gates for the New York State Senate Chambers in Albany. Pieces by Albert Paley can be found in the permanent collections of many major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University, England, and The British Museum in London. Paley will sign books after his September 12 talk, which is free and open to the public.