News
Grounds For Sculpture Receives $3 Million Gift from the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation
Transformative Contribution is One of the Largest in the Sculpture Park’s History
Hamilton, NJ – February 20, 2025 – Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is thrilled to announce a transformative $3 million dollar gift from the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation, a contribution that marks one of the largest single donations from an individual in the organization’s history. This generous endowment gift will play a crucial role in ensuring the lasting legacy of GFS and its commitment to promoting the interplay of art, nature, and wellness for the community.
Betty Wold Johnson, a devoted supporter of the arts and the cousin of Seward Johnson, the visionary founder of GFS, has left an indelible mark on the institution. She was one of the most celebrated philanthropists of her generation, and her commitment to the arts and her family’s legacy of creativity continue to inspire the GFS’s mission to engage the public with art in nature.
“We are immensely grateful to the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation for this remarkable gift,” said GFS Executive Director, Gary Garrido Schneider. “This contribution not only enhances our endowment but also strengthens our ability to provide innovative exhibitions, educational programs, and community initiatives. We are committed to ensuring that Grounds For Sculpture remains a source of inspiration for generations to come.”
The Betty Wold Johnson Foundation’s generous contribution will enable Grounds For Sculpture to expand its programming and improve facilities, while also supporting the ongoing maintenance and preservation of the stunning 42-acre sculpture park. With this gift, the total endowment for Grounds For Sculpture now exceeds $37 million, representing a significant step toward safeguarding the future of GFS and enhancing its role as a cultural beacon in New Jersey and the surrounding region.
Dr. Penelope A. Lattimer, Vice President of the GFS Board of Trustees and Chair of GFS’s Development Committee reflected on her memories of Betty: “Each time I spoke with Betty Wold Johnson, I was inspired. Betty was a woman of substance and grace. Cherished memories of my conversations and walks through Grounds for Sculpture with Betty give joy to my voluntarism every day. She spoke with conviction and shared her values ardently; and so, I am grateful that at the top was her belief in and support for the unique mission and values demonstrated by work presented in the exhibitions at Grounds For Sculpture.”
In expressing the Foundation’s dedication to the arts, Ken Farber, Director of the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation, stated, “While Betty Wold Johnson is no longer with us, her passion for art and belief in its power to enrich lives continues. This gift reflects her unwavering commitment to supporting meaningful philanthropic endeavors. We hope it encourages others to join us in celebrating and preserving the legacy established by Seward Johnson at Grounds For Sculpture.”
As Grounds For Sculpture continues to evolve and adapt to the changing landscape of the arts, this investment will ensure that the legacy of Seward Johnson and the foundation’s commitment to fostering creativity endure.
About Betty Wold Johnson Foundation
The Betty Wold Johnson Foundation operates as the legacy of Betty Wold Johnson (1921-2020), a renowned philanthropist and long-time contributor to arts, education, and healthcare initiatives. Mrs. Johnson was one of the most celebrated philanthropists of her generation, supporting many arts and science institutions particularly in New Jersey and New York, including the Nature Conservancy of New Jersey, the Liberty Science Center, the Arts Council of Princeton, the Princeton Public Library, the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Lincoln Center.
Betty also supported many health organizations, such as the rebuilding of Princeton Hospital and, through Project Renewal, provided assistance to the homeless via mobile health programs. She was conscious of the need to promote the health of her community, inspired by a long-established Johnson family legacy.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
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Media Contact
Lauren Collalto, Press Office
press@groundsforsculpture.org
Grounds For Sculpture to Present Clifford Ward: I’ll Make Me a World
Exhibition Represents Over a Decade of Creative Work That Resonates with the Collective Human Experience
Hamilton, NJ — January 28, 2025 — This spring, Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) will present Clifford Ward: I’ll Make Me a World, an exhibition guest curated by Noah Smalls, which will be on view in the Museum Building from May 18, 2025 through January 11, 2026. Spanning over a decade of creative work, much of which was created at Clifford Ward’s studio on the GFS campus, this exhibition presents a rich tapestry of themes and concepts in his expansive practice. Ward is inspired by a diverse array of cultural influences, including contributions from the African diaspora, Australian Aboriginal people, and Native American and Māori cultures. His work often explores geometry, Cubism, mythology, and anthropomorphism. Together, these myriad influences, themes and concepts transcend temporal and geographical confines, resonating with the collective human experience.
“We’re delighted to showcase an extensive body of work from an artist with whom we have a long-standing relationship,” said Kathleen Greene, Chief Audience Officer at Grounds For Sculpture. “The diverse cultural narratives woven into Ward’s wide-ranging artistic practice will be relatable to both existing and new audiences, including those of our nearby collaborator, Artworks Trenton.”
This exhibition offers an opportunity for a unique collaboration between Grounds For Sculpture and Artworks in Trenton, NJ, which will show Clifford Ward: I’LL MAKE ME A WORLD, prologue, from February 1 – April 12, 2025. Curated by Addison Vincent, Artistic Director of Artworks Trenton, the preceding exhibition at Artworks will introduce a sampling of Ward’s works, highlighting the individual impact of specific works from multiple series. The exhibition at GFS will build on the Artworks exhibition by presenting Ward’s work in a larger context, revealing the complete narrative and the interconnectedness of his greater oeuvre.
“We are excited to present Clifford Ward’s exhibition at Artworks Trenton. His talent for engaging and inspiring audiences perfectly complements our mission to nurture creativity and artistic expression within the community. Furthermore, his work embodies the ideals of Black History Month, extending its significance beyond the month of February,” stated Addison Vincent, Artistic Director of Artworks Trenton.
Ward’s artistic journey envisions a Black future that reclaims and reinterprets the symbolism and history of the past. Conceptually, it aligns with Afrofuturism, a cultural aesthetic with roots in the mid-twentieth century. The aesthetic weaves together science fiction, history and fantasy to explore Black experiences and imagine liberatory futures. This is embodied by Ward’s “Animism” series, a body of work featuring totemic figures displaying intricate geometries, mythologies, textures, and symbols. Despite their ethereal origins, these sculptures firmly root themselves in the present moment. These works also demonstrate a sculptural process that Ward has developed and refined over many years: wrapping plaster bandages around a supporting armature, which is reinforced and shaped with a variety of materials, such as steel, wood, Styrofoam, cardboard, and newspaper, and subsequently finished with shellac, brown wax, and acrylic paint.
“Having always felt the inclination to create, I made a significant piece one night using a long balloon wrapped around a cranberry juice jar, applied paper mâché, and painted it. This simple piece was the impetus that changed my life—leading to my becoming a professional artist,” remarked Clifford Ward. “Since then, I’ve expanded this technique to create wall reliefs and figures ranging from six feet to nine feet, and I look forward to sharing approximately 60 works that use this technique at my upcoming exhibition at Ground For Sculpture.”
“I am deeply honored to curate this exhibition alongside Clifford Ward, whose unwavering vision and dedication to his masterful artistic practice has been a constant source of inspiration throughout this project,” added the exhibition’s curator, Noah Smalls. “Much of the work Clifford has created over the past decade has never been exhibited before, and it is with great excitement that I look forward to sharing these extraordinary pieces with the GFS community and audiences beyond.”
This solo exhibition of Ward’s work not only celebrates Afrofuturism as a dynamic artistic genre, but also underscores its evolution and potential future directions within visual culture. It encourages audiences to engage deeply with diverse cultural narratives, transcending temporal and spatial boundaries to address themes that are simultaneously timeless and forward-thinking. It invites viewers to embark on a journey of exploration and introspection, hopefully challenging them to reconsider their perspectives on identity, history, and the future.
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The Grounds For Sculpture exhibition Clifford Ward: I’ll Make Me A World is made possible by generous exhibition support from Julie and Michael Nachamkin. Additional support is provided by NRG Energy and Marjorie Ogilvie. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a division of the NJ Department of State, and a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
About the Guest Curator for Clifford Ward: I’ll Make Me a World: Noah Smalls (he/him) is a museum consultant, exhibition designer, gallery director, and interpretive program developer. With a diverse portfolio of clients, including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), Mural Arts Philadelphia, the African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP), the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage, and the American Friends Service Committee, Smalls has left an indelible mark on numerous cultural institutions across the nation. He currently serves as the Director of Exhibitions and Collections Management at the esteemed Williams College Museum of Art in Massachusetts, as well as the Director of the vibrant Rush Arts Philadelphia Gallery in Pennsylvania. Smalls brings a depth of knowledge and artistic insight to his work, continually pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. Driven by his mission to contribute to the ongoing transition of the museum field, he is dedicated to creating spaces that showcase art and serve as platforms for dialogue, education, and social change. His vision for the future of museums embraces diversity and accessibility, ensuring that art remains a powerful tool for transformation and enlightenment.
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Thanks to a generous grant from organizations like the New Jersey Arts Council, Artworks Trenton can present programming like Clifford Ward: I’LL MAKE ME A WORLD, prologue. Programming such as this exhibition enriches our community and fosters creativity, a cornerstone of Artworks Trenton’s mission.
About the Curator for Clifford Ward: I’LL MAKE ME A WORLD, prologue: Addison Vincent is a freelance artist and curator from Lower Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He studied art history and business administration at the University of Hartford and began his art career shortly after graduating with honors in Visual Communications from Gibbs College in 1999. Addison has completed many works on a commission basis for both private parties and businesses, stage productions, and short stories, while presenting his original works in galleries across PA, NJ, and NY. In his role as Gallery/Artistic Director, he selects and coordinates the exhibitions in the Artworks Trenton galleries, including gallery programming at the annual Art All Night and Art All Day events.
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Press Preview
A special viewing of the exhibition for accredited journalists will take place on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 at 11AM. Reservations are required. Contact: press@groundsforsculpture.org.
Member Preview Day
Grounds For Sculpture will hold a special Preview Day for its Members on Saturday, May 17, 2025. Reservations are required.
Hours and Ticketing
Grounds For Sculpture is open Wednesday – Monday, 10AM – 5PM. For extended hours May – September, visit the Grounds For Sculpture website: groundsforsculpture.org.
Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Capacity is limited and tickets often sell out on weekends and holidays. Member reservations are required on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Tickets are available up to two weeks in advance and are released on a weekly basis.
Follow Grounds For Sculpture on Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtag #groundsforsculpture.
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About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
About Artworks Trenton
Artworks Trenton’s downtown visual arts center is a 501(c)(3) Charitable Corporation, that promotes artistic diversity by fostering creativity, learning, and appreciation of the arts. Our exhibitions, workshops and events make art an accessible experience for all, building community among and between art students of all ages, professional and amateur artists, inner city and suburban residents, die-hard art fans and first time art appreciators. For more information, visit artworkstrenton.org.
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Grounds For Sculpture Media Contact
Lauren Collalto, Press Office
Grounds For Sculpture
Artworks Trenton Media Contact
Tishara Linares, Marketing Coordinator
609-394-9436
Grounds For Sculpture Upgraded to Level II Arboretum by the Arbnet Accreditation Program
The 42-acre Sculpture Park is One of Only 221 Arboreta Worldwide with this Accreditation
Hamilton, NJ – October 22, 2024 – Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) today announced that it has recently been accredited as a Level II Arboretum by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens. The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta at various levels of development, capacity, and professionalism. In addition to the recent upgrade, GFS is also recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants. As of October 2024, GFS is one of only 221 arboreta worldwide that has the Level II Accreditation.
“We are honored to receive the Level II Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum,” remarked Janis Napoli, Director of Horticulture at GFS. “This accreditation reflects the tireless work of the GFS Horticulture department as well as the support and dedication of our volunteers. It underscores our commitment to planting and conserving trees, leading thoughtful educational programming, and carefully documenting our extensive living collection.”
Landscape construction for what would become Grounds For Sculpture began in 1989 on the former site of the New Jersey State Fairgrounds. Since then over 2,000 trees, representing more than 100 species and cultivars, have been planted, forming the sculpture park, museum, and arboretum’s living collection. The diverse and artful collection of plants comprising the living collection evoke feelings of surprise and delight, which was part of founder Seward Johnson’s original intention for the grounds and its carefully curated interplay of art and nature. This resulted in plants being chosen for unusual or rare qualities rather than what is typical for a botanic garden or arboretum. This philosophy is being carried forward as part of GFS’ Living Collection Policy along with more traditional taxonomic collections of woody plants, herbaceous plants, and non-hardy (conservatory) plants.
In 2022, Grounds For Sculpture received a Level I Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum. Requirements for this level include having an arboretum plan, an organizational or governance group, at least 25 labeled tree and woody plant taxa, public access, and at least one event per year. To upgrade to Level II, the requirements become more robust; criteria include having at least 100 labeled tree and woody plant taxa and enhanced public and educational programs. In just two years, GFS was upgraded to a Level II Accreditation as it has over 100 labeled species and cultivars and year-round educational programs, such as houseplant propagation and care and seasonal tours of the living collection, all led by experienced Horticultural department staff.
Horticultural Programs
To learn more about and to register for current horticultural programs, visit the events calendar: https://www.groundsforsculpture.org/calendar/?fwp_event_type=horticulture
Garden Circle
To support the care and growth of GFS’ living collection, consider joining the Garden Circle: https://www.groundsforsculpture.org/join-support/garden-circle/
About ArbNet
ArbNet is an interactive, collaborative, international community of arboreta. ArbNet facilitates the sharing of knowledge, experience, and other resources to help arboreta meet their institutional goals and works to raise professional standards through the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program. The accreditation program, sponsored and coordinated by The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois in cooperation with American Public Gardens Association and Botanic Gardens Conservation International, is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta based on a set of professional standards. The program offers four levels of accreditation, recognizing arboreta of various degrees of development, capacity and professionalism. Standards include planning, governance, public access, programming and tree science, planting and conservation. More information is available at www.arbnet.org.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
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Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture Now Exhibiting Petah Coyne’s Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees), 2013-2023
The Large-Scale Installation Is on View Now Through March 2, 2025
Hamilton, NJ – October 10, 2024 – Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) today announced that Petah Coyne’s Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees) is currently on view in its Museum Building through March 2, 2025. The large-scale sculpture is on loan from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), which is sharing this work from its permanent collection through Art Bridges Foundation’s Partner Loan Network. Created using unconventional materials such as apple trees and taxidermized peacocks, Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees) compares and contrasts elegantly with the garden landscape of GFS. The view from inside the gallery looks out upon the gardens, inviting opportunities for deeper discussions on nature, climate, temporality, and whimsy. These core themes underscore the inherent interplay between sculpture and landscape, a cornerstone of GFS Founder, Seward Johnson’s, vision for the park.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees) at Grounds For Sculpture,” said Kathleen Greene, Chief Audience Officer at Grounds For Sculpture. “This work’s use of unconventional, yet natural, materials enable us to expand the experience of contemporary sculpture at GFS while considering key themes surrounding nature, preservation, and fantasy. We are very grateful to both PAFA and Art Bridges for their support in presenting this installation to our community, which will help us deepen our engagement with key stakeholders and forge a relationship with our peer institution, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.”
In Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees), flora and fauna are brought together in a reverential yet imaginative way. The installation’s central element is made from two real trees that were cut and reformed to create one large branching shape that is 15 feet high and 25 feet wide. Upon the branches, Coyne places more than a dozen taxidermized peacocks. Surrounding the tree are floral elements, which rest on the branches and on the floor around its base. Peacocks are a reoccurring theme throughout literature and folklore, where they are often used to represent many different ideas and concepts. Coyne incorporates these birds often in her work, and she notes their association in Irish folklore with escorting the dead to the afterlife.
“We are excited to partner with Grounds For Sculpture to bring Petah Coyne’s remarkable work, Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees), to the sculpture park,” says Art Bridges CEO Anne Kraybill. “This collaboration highlights our ongoing mission to share significant works of American art with diverse audiences, fostering reflection and engagement.”
Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees) was recently presented at a joint exhibition Rising Sun: Artists in an Uncertain America between PAFA and the African American Museum in Philadelphia. As one of the joint exhibition’s 20 participating contemporary artists, Coyne was asked to consider the question, “Is the sun rising or setting on the experiment of American democracy?” This prompt was inspired by the words of Benjamin Franklin and the lyrics from James Weldon Johnson’s Black National Anthem, Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.
Petah Coyne is a contemporary American artist who works in varied and nontraditional materials including her own specially formulated wax, taxidermy, human hair, scrap metal, silk flowers, and religious statuary. Art history, family memories, and literature often inspire her work, drawing from a large pool of different sources, from Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace to Miss Havisham from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. Her arrangement of material and juxtaposition of mediums to create large-scale installations, for which she is best known, often evoke themes of life and death, triumph and loss, chaos and stillness, and beauty and darkness.
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Petah Coyne’s sculpture Untitled #1383 (Sisters – Two Trees) is on loan from Art Bridges. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
About Petah Coyne
Petah Coyne (b. 1953, Oklahoma City, OK) attended Kent State University from 1972-1973. In 1977, she graduated from the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Her work has been the subject of more than 30 solo museum exhibitions, including Petah Coyne: Everything That Rises Must Converge, Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA (2010) and Petah Coyne: Above and Beneath the Skin at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO (2005). Her work resides in numerous permanent museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, California; Museum of Contemporary Art KIASMA, Finland; and many others. She is the past recipient of grants from the Pollock Krasner Foundation, Anonymous was a Woman, and the Guggenheim Foundation. In 2024 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center. She is represented by Galerie Lelong & Co and NuNu Fine Art, Taiwan.
About Art Bridges Foundation
Art Bridges Foundation is the vision of philanthropist and arts patron Alice Walton. Since 2017, Art Bridges has created and supported projects that bring outstanding works of American art out of storage and into communities across the United States and its territories. Art Bridges partners with a growing network of more than 240 museums of all sizes on nearly 900 projects—impacting 5.3 million people nationwide—to provide financial and strategic support for exhibitions, collection loans, and programs designed to educate, inspire, and deepen engagement with local communities. The Art Bridges Collection represents an expanding vision of American art from the 19th century to present day and encompasses multiple media and voices. For more information, visit artbridgesfoundation.org.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
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Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture Awarded $288,890 Grant by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts
Grant will support Grounds For Sculpture’s mission
Hamilton, NJ – August 9, 2024 – Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) has been awarded a $288,890 grant by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA). This new level of annual support, which can be anticipated for three years, will enable GFS to maximize its role as a leading cultural institution in New Jersey. This funding will help support general operations, and bolster Grounds For Sculpture’s mission to be more accessible to a diverse array of New Jerseyans while presenting a robust calendar of programming, which includes arts, wellness, and horticultural experiences.
“We are honored to be among the cultural organizations that the State Council on the Arts has awarded this generous operational funding,” said Gary Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “The incredible support the State has contributed to the arts not only provides us vital resources to fulfill our mission, but also helps expand our offerings to engage with a broader, more diverse community.”
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts awarded more than $30 million in grants to support approximately 900 arts organizations, projects, and artists throughout the state on July 30, 2024. The grants were approved at the Council’s 58th Annual Meeting in Trenton, which featured a special musical performance by Hector Morales, a 2024 Arts Council Heritage Fellow.
“The investment made in our state’s artists and organizations has a direct, positive impact on New Jersey residents, families, businesses, and communities,” said Acting Governor Tahesha Way, who oversees the Council in her role as Secretary of State. “It’s an honor to work closely with the Council to help our state’s creative industries thrive, and to ensure New Jersey’s diverse constituencies can access the many benefits of the arts.”
About the New Jersey State Council on the Arts
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the NJ Department of State, and a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council believes the arts are central to every element we value most in a modern society including: human understanding; cultural and civic pride; strong communities; excellent schools; lifelong learning; creative expression; and economic opportunity. To learn more about the Council, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
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Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture to Present Slow Motion, Guest Curated by Monument Lab
On view from May 5, 2024 through September 1, 2025
Exhibition Explores the Life Cycles and Material Possibilities of Monuments
Hamilton, NJ — April 4, 2024 — This spring, Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) will present Slow Motion, an exhibition guest curated by Monument Lab that expands the boundaries of contemporary sculpture through the use of unconventional materials and processes. Founded in 2012, Monument Lab is a nonprofit public art and history studio based in Philadelphia, which cultivates and facilitates critical conversations around the past, present, and future of monuments. Traditional approaches to monument-making emphasize durability, solidity, and myths of enduring permanence; however, Slow Motion, which will be on view from May 5, 2024 through September 1, 2025, will embrace the pleasures and possibilities of material transience.
“At GFS, we believe that exhibitions can become a catalyst for transformation across the organization, while reflecting our commitment to present the works of contemporary sculptors who reflect the greater world, challenge perceptions, and inspire,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “Collaborating with a guest curator and project partner such as Monument Lab infuses new perspectives and supports innovative approaches to curating, while presenting new voices and ideas.”
Slow Motion is organized by Monument Lab, with five artists selected to participate and respond to the exhibition’s central question, “how do we remake our relationship with monuments?” The artists were chosen based on several key criteria: use of unconventional materials; ability to embrace playfulness in their creative practice; and the incorporation of accessibility, inclusivity, and equity lenses in their work. The featured artists are Billy Dufala, Ana Teresa Fernández, Colette Fu, Omar Tate, and Sandy Williams IV. Each artist’s work will underscore how materials are not just a medium for monumental work; materials carry meanings themselves, functioning as symbols of specific places, memories, scents, and feelings.
“We’re thrilled to work with and learn from these five artists, whose interdisciplinary practices have long experimented with the materialities and temporalities of public memory. Their boundary-pushing artworks for this exhibition inspire visitors to reorient themselves in how they relate to monuments, to collective memories, and ultimately, to each other,” shared Patricia Eunji Kim, Monument Lab Curator of Slow Motion.
Billy Dufala is an interdisciplinary artist in Philadelphia and co-founder of Recycled Artists in Residence (RAIR). Dufala’s practice offers a playful and critical approach to the twin problems of material waste and exploitative land use. Future Futures, a site-specific sculpture made of recycled aluminum bales, is a temporary monument that functions as both a material commodity and a staged “performance.” Following the closing of the exhibition, the sculpture will be dismantled and these materials will be reintroduced into the commodities market.
Ana Teresa Fernández is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Mexico, now based in San Francisco, who will exhibit her work SHHH. This 7-foot-high series of letters is covered in 1,800 suspended golden acrylic mirrors which both react to and reflect back their surrounding environment. SHHH is a monument to the silence of cultures and habitats as sea levels rise and coastlines disappear, a future memorial to what will inevitably be lost.
Colette Fu is an artist and a paper engineer born in New Jersey and based in Philadelphia, best known for the creation of pop-up books. For this exhibition, Fu will create Noodle Mountain, a large-scale pop-up book that illuminates the long history of noodles, a complex culinary connection to experiences of immigration, labor, and collective identity formations in the Chinese diaspora. In her work, Fu has long considered the material life cycles of archives and experimented with the materialization of stories and memories through non-conventional practices.
Omar Tate, who is well-known for his culinary creations, identifies as an artist who uses food as one of his many mediums. His work is rooted in the values of nourishment and the reclamation of Black food traditions and cultural aesthetics that can be experienced through his Philadelphia-based grocery and catering business, Honeysuckle Projects, which Tate co-owns and operates alongside his wife Cybille St. Aude-Tate. For Slow Motion, Tate will work within the culinary spaces of Grounds For Sculpture to design an experience that speaks to the way that smells, taste, and sight can be poetic entry points to share memories.
Sandy Williams IV is a multidisciplinary artist who will also create new work for this exhibition connected to their Wax Monuments series. In this ongoing project, recognizable public monuments that are made in traditional and durable materials are recast in wax and positioned on a stage inspired by the steps from the Lincoln Memorial. These monuments, which normally convey a sense of permanence and immutability, will be periodically melted throughout the exhibition. This iteration of Williams’ work offers an approach to public memory that “hold[s] space for disenfranchised public memories and visualiz[es] frameworks of emancipation and shared agency.”
As visitors experience the exhibition, they will be invited to slow down and re-examine how they might remake their relationships with public monuments. Monument Lab will prepare an engagement space within the exhibition to explore key themes addressed in this project, offering opportunities for active participation and reflection.
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Slow Motion is made possible by generous exhibition support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Brooke Barrie Art Fund, NRG Energy, and Julie and Michael Nachamkin. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey Department of State.
About Monument Lab
Monument Lab is a nonprofit public art and history studio based in Philadelphia that is among the country’s leading voices making generational change in how monuments live in public. As a team of artists, curators, and researchers, Monument Lab critically engages our inherited symbols in order to unearth the next generation of monuments that elevate stories and systems of belonging. Since 2012, Monument Lab has produced groundbreaking public art exhibitions, participatory research initiatives, media projects, civic and municipal partnerships, and site-specific commissions and workshops. Monument Lab is based in Philadelphia, with team members and collaborators located across the United States, its territories, and beyond. For more information and to support, visit MonumentLab.com.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
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Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Final Weeks to See Two Concurrent Exhibitions Comprising the Inaugural Perspectives Series
The Exhibitions Local Voices: Memories, Stories and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade Explore Individual and Communal Agency in the Art of Storytelling and Will Close on January 7, 2024.
Hamilton, NJ – December 8, 2023 – Two Artist Led, Community Driven exhibitions focused on storytelling from the individual and community perspectives are entering their final weeks and will close on January 7, 2024. The exhibitions, now on view in Grounds For Sculpture’s Domestic Arts Building, were developed to highlight and deepen relationships in New Jersey, specifically with the Indian and Trenton communities.
Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits provides a multi-faceted look at the Indian community in New Jersey through first-person narratives, portraits and objects and was created in partnership with artist, teacher, and journalist Madhusmita Bora. The second exhibition, Spiral Q: The Parade, focuses on the locally and nationally recognized puppet-making organization, Spiral Q, with its rich history of take it to the street advocacy processions for social and political change.
Both exhibitions are on view through January 7, 2024, in Grounds For Sculpture’s Domestic Arts Building.
“Grounds For Sculpture is taking on new levels of engagement with our audiences as we organize Artist Led, Community Driven exhibitions to deepen our understanding of how we—as artists, individuals, and communities—reflect on our world and respond to the subjects and issues of today,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “We remain committed to engaging and challenging visitors of all ages and backgrounds with exhibitions and collections that present the work of contemporary artists through sculpture, while developing greater understanding of our audiences through storytelling and listening to the voices of the communities around us.”
Kathleen Ogilvie Greene, Chief Audience Officer at Grounds For Sculpture and lead curator of both exhibitions, added, “Both Madhu Bora and Spiral Q have been amazing partners, and it’s been a pleasure to present two distinct, yet connected, paths to storytelling: the individual narratives within one exhibition and the collective voice of a community in the other. I’ve been delighted to work on both shows with co-curator Quentin Williams, who brough his expertise as a curator, activist, and poet to the team.”
Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits
April 23, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Grounds For Sculpture invited Madhusmita Bora—a folk and traditional artist, teacher, writer, and journalist, as well as an Assamese-American dancer and founder of Sattriya Dance Company—to gather oral histories presenting a range of uniquely personal stories from New Jersey’s robust Indian diasporic community. The images, objects, and stories within the Local Voices exhibition are the result of her building relationships with individuals, the “storytellers,” over the course of 10 months. The 15 selected individuals were then invited to share their stories, select an object of meaning, and craft their image with full autonomy, to create a powerful exhibition.
This exhibition is Artist Led, Community Driven, presenting an opportunity to engage our community with the lead artist’s creative practice, while encouraging community members to express their stories, ideas, and passions through the storytellers’ medium, or process, of choice. Participants in this project reflect a broad scope of this community through the lenses of language, religion, ability, region of origin, caste, education, immigration, and sexual orientation.
Grounds For Sculpture is also working with the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) as a preservation partner, to ensure that the stories shared within this exhibition will be archived permanently for the benefit of future generations.
Spiral Q: The Parade
April 23, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Grounds For Sculpture is now presenting the site-specific exhibition Spiral Q: The Parade, to highlight Spiral Q, a community-based organization now in its 27th year, and its rich history of a take-to-the streets approach to creating an unflinching and joyous commitment to justice and equality. Grounds For Sculpture is honored to present Spiral Q’s first retrospective exhibition, showcasing their 27 years of community partnerships, creativity, and advocacy. A key part of their tenure at GFS was a three-week residency with Artworks Trenton, which led to a public parade on July 29th at Grounds For Sculpture.
Founded in 1996, Spiral Q is a Philadelphia-based, non-profit organization that has become widely known for its originality, capacity to inspire individuals of all ages and backgrounds, and ability to creatively invigorate communities. They use artmaking, organizing, and their own inquiry-based methodology to model and teach practical skills in collaboration, community organizing, advocacy, and identifying and mobilizing shared resources.
Spiral Q works with around 3,000 individuals each year and brings their public work to audiences of approximately 30,000 annually. Their mission is “to build strong and equitable communities characterized by creativity, joy, can-do attitudes, and the courage to act on their convictions.”
They are perhaps best known for producing parades and community festivals based on the creative and cultural traditions and practices of the people involved. These events are designed to create space for creative self- and community expression; to spotlight visual, movement, and musical artists; and to bring communities together.
Spiral Q led a residency in July 2023 at Artworks Trenton’s visual arts center in downtown Trenton along with workshops at local community events throughout Trenton. Community members and organizations were invited to create puppets and banners for a procession at Grounds For Sculpture. The procession, which was held on July 29th at Grounds For Sculpture, had over 300 attendees, successfully engaging the local community.
“Spiral is a symbol of magic and emotion and power, but it comes from a small agitation like a tornado. Tornadoes don’t just happen, they come from very special environments and as more things are added to it the tornado gets stronger and stronger. It’s very focused. And Q is queer, it’s the unwanted, it’s the better left invisible, it’s the disgusting, the ones that shouldn’t be heard from. The ones that should be kept down. It’s the poor people’s theater; it’s very accessible. It can be an entryway to performance and theater that is very simple. It’s a form of personal justice.”
–Mattyboy Hart, founder of Spiral Q, quoted in 2001
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Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade are made possible by major support from Marjorie Ogilvie and Miller Parker (PNAA Foundation) and The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation. Additional generous support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Brooke Barrie Art Fund, Drs. Umesh and Sunanda Gaur, Holman, NRG Energy, and PSE&G. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
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Hours and Ticketing
Both Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade are on view through January 7, 2024 with general admission. Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Reservations can be made online at groundsforsculpture.org.
Also on view now at Grounds For Sculpture:
Night Forms, an after-hours, multi-sensory light and sound experience that uses projection mapping to engage with the Ground For Sculpture art and horticulture collections. Open now through April 7, 2024.
Follow Grounds For Sculpture on Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtag #groundsforsculpture.
About Grounds For Sculpture:
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture to Present Final Nighttime Light and Sound Experience in Collaboration with Klip Collective
This Represents the Third Season of Night Forms, a Site-Specific Commission Presented in Dialogue with the Sculpture Park’s Natural Landscape and Collection of Contemporary Art
Hamilton, NJ — October 10, 2023 — Night Forms, a site-specific multi-sensory experience, will be on view at Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) from November 24, 2023 through April 7, 2024. This third and final installment of GFS’s partnership with Klip Collective brings back more than a dozen installations from the second season’s Infinite Wave along with a reprise of Froghead Rainbow, one of the most popular works from Klip’s inaugural project at GFS, dreamloop. The exhibition is designed to engage with Grounds For Sculpture’s art and horticulture collections and invites visitors to explore the grounds after dark.
“Night Forms was born out of a desire to build new audiences, engage our current audience, and promote GFS as a truly year-round destination,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “Over the last two years, we welcomed over 90,000 guests, of which over half were first-time GFS visitors. We are delighted that Night Forms and our partnership with Klip Collective helped us broaden and deepen audience engagement and look forward to embarking on new opportunities, exhibitions, and creative partnerships.”
Night Forms’ after-hours experience is a synthesis of light, sound, and video projection mapping, a process pioneered by Klip Collective. Each illuminated installation will offer a unique, layered dialogue with either an artwork or feature from the horticultural collection. Popular spotlighted sculptures include Bruce Beasley, Dorion; Isaac Witkin, Eolith; and Michelle Post, The Oligarchs as well as a favorite horticultural feature, the Red Maple Allée. The installations will be situated at intervals along Grounds For Sculpture’s Main Loop path and their patterns of light will be syncopated to original soundtracks by electronic musicians.
Ricardo Rivera, Creative Director and Founder of Klip Collective, commented, “We’re excited to return for the final season of Night Forms. We’re pulling together the best works over the last few seasons, including Froghead Rainbow and the retro video game-inspired installation on the Dorion sculpture. It’s a proud moment to reflect on all the amazing talent and fun we’ve had bringing this exhibition to life.”
While viewing Night Forms, visitors will have the rare opportunity to explore the park at night. For those who wish to extend their exploration of the grounds, a digital tour highlighting a mix of 20 works from GFS’ horticultural and sculpture collections is offered along the Main Loop path.
Grounds For Sculpture is grateful for Lead Supporter Stark & Stark Inc., P.C., which includes underwriting admission for nonprofit partners who share community tickets to visit the exhibition. “Stark & Stark is proud to support the Grounds for Sculpture Night Forms exhibition. Art is vital to building strong communities. All members of our community deserve access to the benefits of the artistic, educational, and public programs provided by Grounds For Sculpture.” Michael G. Donahue, Esq., Managing Shareholder, Stark & Stark Inc., P.C.
The exhibition is curated by Faith McClellan, Director of Collections and Exhibitions at Grounds For Sculpture.
Night Forms is supported by Lead Supporter Stark & Stark Inc., P.C., and the following exhibition supporters: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Capital Health, Chubb, Gallagher, Geoscape Solar, NJM Insurance Group, NRG Energy, Oliver Construction Enterprises, and PSE&G. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
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Press Preview
A special viewing of the exhibition for accredited journalists will take place on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 5-8PM. Reservations are required. Contact: press@groundsforsculpture.org.
Member Preview Night
Grounds For Sculpture will hold a special Preview Night for its Members on November 18, 2023. Reservations are required. Learn more here.
Hours and Ticketing
Tickets for Night Forms are now on sale. Night Forms is open Friday – Sunday, Sunset – 10PM (last tickets are available at 9PM).
Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Reservations can be made online at groundsforsculpture.org/nightforms. Capacity is limited and tickets often sell out on weekends and holidays.
Enjoy Night Forms with a special Experience Package. With two options available, find the perfect way to enhance your visit to Night Forms this season.
Grounds For Sculpture Members enjoy discounted tickets to Night Forms, access to Member Preview Night on November 18, 2023, and other exclusive benefits. Not a Member? Learn more.
Follow Grounds For Sculpture and Night Forms on Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtags #nightforms and #groundsforsculpture.
About Ricardo Rivera and Klip Collective
Ricardo Rivera, Creative Director and Founder of Klip Collective, is a site-specific installation artist and pioneer of projection mapping. Rivera has directed several ambient light and sound experiences, including Nightscape at Longwood Gardens and Electric Desert at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. As a Sundance Story Lab fellow and Creative Capital award recipient, Rivera applies his live performance and film background in the transformation of spaces, layering architecture and filling landscapes with light and sound, resulting in immersive, sensory environments.
Led by installation artist and projection pioneer, Ricardo Rivera, Klip Collective is a creative studio that uses a unique synthesis of projection mapping, lighting, and sound design to create captivating, immersive sensory experiences. Since its founding in 2003, the studio has collaborated with numerous cultural partners and institutions including Monument Lab, Société des Arts Technologiques (SAT) in Montreal, Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow, Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier, and Longwood Gardens to present site-specific, large-scale explorations of perception and imagination. Through the creation of an immersive visual and sonic landscape that draws inspiration from—and adds dimension to—a space, audiences are invited to interact and participate in a dynamically transformed atmosphere.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
press@groundsforsculpture.org
Generous Grant Furthers Grounds For Sculpture’s Wellness Initiative
Grounds For Sculpture receives major funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences to support its Wellness Initiative
HAMILTON, NJ – August 31, 2023 – Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) FY2023 Museums for America program. The IMLS grant is an incredibly competitive national grant and one of the largest GFS has ever received. This funding will be used over the next three years to support and expand wellness initiatives at the organization. The distinct combination of art and nature, alongside programs centered on mental and physical wellness at GFS, has offers our regional community a place for post-pandemic recovery and self-nurturing. The funding includes hiring a new Wellness Manager to oversee the current programs and take the lead on expanding program offerings and engagement. This professional will be joining a team of educators transforming ideas into practice and partnering with the community to deepen ties and broaden engagement.
Executive Director Gary Garrido Schneider responded to this impactful funding, “It is an honor to be awarded this significant multi-year grant for this initiative by the Museums for America program. It will allow Grounds For Sculpture to maximize resources to address community needs through partnerships and collaborations, and advance opportunities for our Wellness Initiative to benefit more guests. We are excited to fully explore the potential of this Initiative throughout the grounds and with our health and wellness partners.”
GFS began its wellness work nearly two decades ago with a project, Grounds For Healing, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJ), Hamilton, NJ. GFS landscape architects designed plans to create Grounds for Healing at every hospital entrance, including a private garden for cancer patients. Since then, GFS’s wellness programs have grown to include a wide range of activities on the GFS grounds such as Wellness Walks; Tai Chi; Meditation and Mindfulness; Introduction to Herbalism; Sound Baths; and corporate and nonprofit wellness retreats.
GFS’ Wellness Initiative has continued to grow with new iterations, including monthly Wellness Walks. These walks, a cornerstone of the Initiative, are designed for adults 55 and over to provide an exercise for people of all physical abilities. The Walks are coupled with workshops that incorporate art making, mindfulness, and movement. Established in 2011 and expanded in 2015 to serve seniors from Trenton residing at Trent Center West, participants come to GFS as a group to build community, walk and enjoy the grounds. This partnership was a turning point for GFS, specifically increasing our audience and helping broaden racial and economic diversity among our existing wellness attendees. Movement classes promoting mind & body wellness have also gained momentum. These classes include Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese art that blends exercise with stress reduction. The Tai Chi sessions are led by Anthony Jackson of DAO CONCEPTS, a veteran who has been a GFS partner since 2017. In spring 2023, GFS hosted a special meditation workshop for military veterans and their families with acclaimed meditation instructor and journalist, Jeff Warren. The event included a meditation practice and emotional conversations about the needs of our veterans. As a result, GFS and DAO CONCEPTS created Tai Chi for Veterans, six-week workshop sessions in the summer and fall of 2023, offered at no cost to veterans and family members.
GFS sees a unique opportunity to be a catalyst for change through its Wellness Initiative. The broadening of its wellness programs can serve as a conduit to decreasing anxiety and stress related to mental health challenges like isolation and cultural exclusion. This funding will help GFS continue deepening relationships with Black and brown communities, seniors, individuals with varying abilities, veterans, first responders and healthcare professionals as well as intersectional audiences among these groups.
Wellness partnerships are another component of the Initiative that will be expanded with this funding. GFS currently partners with corporations and nonprofits who prioritize employee heath and have utilized GFS as retreat venue, utilizing workshops and garden spaces with their teams. Through ongoing relationships with healthcare systems, such as Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton , GFS has served as a venue for programming for their Seniors Better Health Program. In addition, GFS hosts Capital Health System’s Cancer Survivor Day, where former patients and families gather to celebrate their successful treatment and enjoy the park’s restorative environment.
“Capital Health System has a long-standing partnership with Grounds For Sculpture. Last year GFS Executive Director Gary Garrido Schneider was a guest speaker at that Capital Health Cancer Conference where he presented ‘Arts, Nature and Wellbeing: Non-Clinical Interventions in Health’ sharing the benefits of arts and nature to compliment healing and recovery for cancer patients as well as the needs of caregivers and medical service providers. GFS has been, and continues to be, an active partner with Capital Health in creating collaborations for improving the health and wellness of the communities we serve. We are excited about this important funding from IMLS and the opportunities we have to continue our partnership.” Cataldo Doria, MD,PhD,MBA,FACS Medical Director, Capital Health Cancer Center
Wellness Programs
To learn more about and to register for current wellness programs, visit the events calendar:
https://www.groundsforsculpture.org/calendar/?fwp_event_type=wellness
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About Institute of Museum and Library Sciences
The mission of IMLS is to advance, support, and empower America’s museums, libraries, and related organizations through grantmaking, research, and policy development. The agency carries out its charge as it adapts to meet the changing needs of our nation’s museums and libraries and their communities. IMLS’s mission is essential to helping these institutions navigate change and continue to improve their services. The IMLS Museums for America program supports museums of all sizes and disciplines to undertake projects that strengthen their ability to serve the public through exhibitions, educational/interpretive programs, digital learning resources, professional development, community debate and dialogue, audience-focused studies, and/or collections management, curation, care, and conservation.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
press@groundsforsculpture.org
Grounds For Sculpture Exhibition Celebrates Rich Tapestry and Diversity of New Jersey’s Indian Diaspora
Hamilton, NJ—March 23, 2023, updated May 23, 2023—A new exhibition now on view at Grounds For Sculpture provides a multi-faceted portrait of the Indian diasporic community in New Jersey, through first-person narratives, images, and objects. Titled Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits, it was created in partnership with 15 community members, led by artist, teacher, and journalist Madhusmita “Madhu” Bora. Local Voices is one of two concurrent exhibitions inaugurating the new Perspectives series at GFS and exploring the role of creating person-centered exhibitions, ensuring individual and communal agency in the art of storytelling.
Both Local Voices and the second exhibition, Spiral Q: The Parade, opened on April 23, 2023, and will remain on view through January 7, 2024, in Grounds For Sculpture’s Domestic Arts Building. Spiral Q’s focus is on the locally and nationally recognized puppet-making organization Spiral Q, with its rich history of take-to-the-street advocacy processions for social and political change.
“With the launch of the Perspectives series, Grounds For Sculpture is taking on new levels of engagement with our audiences as we organize artist-led, community-driven exhibitions to deepen our understanding of how we—as artists, individuals, and communities—are reflecting on our world and responding to subjects and issues of today,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “We remain committed to engaging and challenging visitors of all ages and backgrounds with exhibitions and collections that present the work of contemporary artists through sculpture, while developing greater understanding of our audiences through storytelling and listening to the voices of the communities around us.”
Kathleen Ogilvie Greene, Chief Audience Officer at Grounds For Sculpture and lead curator of both exhibitions, added, “Regardless of our race, ethnicity, language, or age, most of us carry stories that offer themes of love, loss, and resilience. This connectivity is the impetus for Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits. We stayed hyperlocal—both with the selected community and with storytelling sharing from a lived experience—to focus on the stories that connect us as human beings.
“Both Madhu Bora and Spiral Q have been amazing partners, and we are excited to present two distinct, yet connected, paths to storytelling: the individual narratives within one exhibition and the collective voice of a community in the other. I’m particularly delighted to be working on both shows with co-curator Quentin Williams, who brings his expertise as a curator, activist, and poet to the team.”
Grounds For Sculpture invited Bora—a folk and traditional artist, teacher, writer, and journalist, as well as an Assamese-American dancer and founder of Sattriya Dance Company—to gather oral histories that would present a range of uniquely personal stories from New Jersey’s robust Indian diasporic community. The images, objects, and stories within the Local Voices exhibition are the result of her building relationships with individuals, the “storytellers,” over the course of 10 months. The selected 15 individuals were then invited to share their stories, select an object of meaning, and craft their image with full autonomy, to create a powerful exhibition.
As the organizing process continued, there were frequent conversations about the core theme and impact of storytelling from a first-person narrative. The storytellers were invited to participate in workshops, where they explored the power of sharing their lived experiences. They were encouraged to share as much or as little as they were comfortable sharing.
“Storytellers are those generous beings who reach into the realm of memory and share deeply personal experiences and reflections vulnerably,” Bora said. “When people whose stories are not often heard have an opportunity to speak their truth, they are empowered and we are all made the better for it. We hope that through this exhibition our audience will be inspired to connect with their own histories, roots, memories, and share those with others.”
The Local Voices exhibition showcases portraits on view, hanging banners, personal objects of meaning, and video and audio clips of personal stories. Participants in this project reflect a broad scope of this community through the lenses of language, religion, ability, region of origin, caste, education, immigration, and sexual orientation.
Related Programs
Public programs accompanying Local Voices have so far included an afternoon performance by Sattriya Dance Company on Saturday, April 29. Pop-up performances by multidisciplinary artists will respond to the exhibition this summer and a storytelling workshop and panel discussion will take place later in the year.
Grounds For Sculpture is also working with the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) as a preservation partner, to ensure that the stories shared within this exhibition will be archived permanently for the benefit of future generations.
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Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade are made possible by major support from Marjorie Ogilvie and Miller Parker (PNAA Foundation) and The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation. Additional generous support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Brooke Barrie Art Fund, Drs. Umesh and Sunanda Gaur, Holman, NRG, and PSE&G. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
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Hours and Ticketing
Both Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade are on view April 23, 2023 – January 7, 2024. Grounds For Sculpture is open Wednesday – Monday, 10-5 p.m. (closed Tuesday). For extended hours May – September, check the Grounds For Sculpture website: groundsforsculpture.org.
Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Capacity is limited and tickets often sell out on weekends and holidays. Member reservations are required on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) and holidays. Tickets are available up to two weeks in advance and are released on a weekly basis.
Follow Grounds For Sculpture and the exhibitions Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade on Facebook and Instagram, and tag us using the hashtags #groundsforsculpture, #artistled, #communitydriven, and @groundsforsculpture.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
EXHIBITION AT GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE PAYS TRIBUTE TO SPIRAL Q,
an organization that uses creativity to build strong and equitable communities characterized by creativity, joy, can-do attitudes, and the courage to act on their convictions
Hamilton, NJ—March 23, 2023, updated May 23, 2023—Grounds For Sculpture is now presenting the site-specific exhibition Spiral Q: The Parade, to highlight Spiral Q, a community-based organization now in its 27th year, and its rich history of a take-to-the streets (real and virtual) approach to creating an unflinching and joyous commitment to justice and equality. Grounds For Sculpture is honored to present Spiral Q’s first retrospective exhibition, showcasing their 27 years of community partnerships, creativity, and advocacy. A key part of their tenure at GFS is a three-week residency with Artworks Trenton, building to a public parade at Grounds For Sculpture.
Founded in 1996, Spiral Q is a Philadelphia-based, non-profit organization widely known for its originality, capacity to inspire individuals of all ages and backgrounds, and ability to creatively invigorate communities. They use art-making, organizing, and their own inquiry-based methodology to model and teach practical skills in collaboration, community organizing, advocacy, and identifying and mobilizing shared resources.
They are perhaps best known for producing parades and community festivals based on the creative and cultural traditions and practices of the people involved. These events are designed to create space for creative self- and community expression; to spotlight visual, movement, and musical artists; and to bring communities together.
Both Spiral Q: The Parade and a second exhibition—Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits—opened on April 23, 2023, and will remain on view through January 7, 2024, in Grounds For Sculpture’s Domestic Arts Building. They are the inaugural exhibitions in a new series, Perspectives, at Grounds For Sculpture. Through these two exhibitions, Grounds For Sculpture is exploring two distinct perspectives on storytelling: the collective voice through puppetry and the individual voice via personal narrative.
“With the launch of the Perspectives series, Grounds For Sculpture is taking on new levels of engagement with our audiences as we organize artist-led, community-driven exhibitions to deepen our understanding of how we—as artists, individuals, and communities—are reflecting on our world and responding to subjects and issues of today,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “We remain committed to engaging and challenging visitors of all ages and backgrounds with exhibitions and collections that present the work of contemporary artists through sculpture, while developing greater understanding of our audiences through storytelling and listening to the voices of the communities around us.”
Kathleen Ogilvie Greene, Chief Audience Officer at Grounds For Sculpture and lead curator of both exhibitions, added: “Spiral Q: The Parade is a powerful installation centering the passion, joy, and advocacy of Black and brown communities and their allies. Spiral Q, the arts and cultural organization, has a deeply personal educational and creative practice that brings the voice of individuals and communities forward and we’re thrilled to bring that intentionality to our current and neighboring communities.
“During the month of July, Spiral Q will lead a series of workshops at Artworks Trenton,” continued Kathleen Greene. “Their work will cumulate in a public procession on Saturday, July 29, at Grounds For Sculpture. The processional is a powerful interactive experience for individuals who participated in the workshops and equally as impactful for those who choose to show up and participate in the parade, or others who are lucky enough to discover the parade en route. The processional will start out in the neighborhood and will move through our front gates, creating a wandering path across our grounds. The large-scale puppet, banners, chants, and energy will call you to it!
“Quentin Williams, co-curator of both exhibitions, has been an amazing partner to work with. His expertise as a curator, activist, and poet has been invaluable.”
The exhibition Spiral Q: The Parade showcases objects and installations that include tribute banners, posters, objects, and wearable puppets from previous parades and processionals. More than 100 objects are on view in the gallery, all of which were created by Spiral Q in partnership with select communities and individuals advocating for change on a local, regional, and/or global scale. Each installation shares a distinct story about a community and, like many objects on display in museums around the world, these objects are not meant to be displayed as static offerings. They were created to be part of a collective processional with movement and energy from those who created the objects. To share the living nature of these items we’ll have videos of parades and sharing a bit of the process. The exhibition is an opportunity for GFS to partner with Artworks Trenton to deepen our relationship with the Trenton community.
Related Programs
Spiral Q will lead a three-week residency in summer 2023 at Artworks Trenton’s visual arts center in downtown Trenton. Community members and organizations from Trenton will be invited to create puppets and banners for a one-mile procession from Trenton to Grounds For Sculpture. Select creations from the residency will then be displayed in the Spiral Q exhibition space at Grounds For Sculpture.
Additional programs include an on-site maker space within the exhibition where participants can make their own protest signs; multiple public workshops throughout the summer and fall focused on puppet-making for all ages; and a panel discussion with Spiral Q and community stakeholders at the end of the year.
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“Spiral is a symbol of magic and emotion and power, but it comes from a small agitation like a tornado. Tornadoes don’t just happen, they come from very special environments as more things are added to it the tornado gets stronger and stronger. It’s very focused. And Q is queer, it’s the unwanted, it’s the better left invisible, it’s the disgusting, the ones that shouldn’t be heard from. The ones that should be kept down. It’s the poor people’s theater; it’s very accessible. It can be an entryway to performance and theater that is very simple. It’s a form of personal justice.”
—Mattyboy Hart, founder of Spiral Q, quoted in 2001
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Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade are made possible by major support from Marjorie Ogilvie and Miller Parker (PNAA Foundation) and The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation. Additional generous support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Brooke Barrie Art Fund, Drs. Umesh and Sunanda Gaur, Holman, NRG, and PSE&G. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
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Hours and Ticketing
Both Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade are on view April 23, 2023 – January 7, 2024. Grounds For Sculpture is open Wednesday – Monday, 10-5 p.m. (closed Tuesday). For extended hours May – September, check the Grounds For Sculpture website: groundsforsculpture.org.
Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Capacity is limited and tickets often sell out on weekends and holidays. Member reservations are required on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) and holidays. Tickets are available up to two weeks in advance and are released on a weekly basis.
Follow Grounds For Sculpture and the exhibitions Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade on Facebook and Instagram, and tag us using the hashtags #groundsforsculpture, #artistled, #communitydriven, and @groundsforsculpture.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring over 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning, ever-changing landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers exhibitions in six indoor galleries, alongside experiential art, horticulture, and wellness programs for all ages. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Final Weeks for Visitors to Discover the Power of Ceramics in Two Exhibitions Celebrating the Works of Roberto Lugo and 16 Ceramists from The Color Network at Grounds for Sculpture
The Exhibitions Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth Will Close Sunday, January 8
Hamilton, NJ, December 19, 2022—Two exhibitions currently on view at Grounds For Sculpture, presenting new works by 17 contemporary artists working in ceramics, are in their final weeks and will close on January 8, 2023.
“As a platform for contemporary art and artists, Grounds For Sculpture amplifies the diverse voices and visions of those working in the field today. Our focused look at the underrepresented medium of ceramics shines a light on artists of color firing a new future in clay,” said Gary Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture, when introducing the exhibitions in the spring.
The solo exhibition Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter debuted all new works by the artist, social activist, spoken word poet, and educator. Reimagining traditional European and Asian porcelain forms and techniques with a 21st-century street sensibility, these multi-cultural mashups were created on site by Lugo during his residency at Grounds For Sculpture last winter. The installation includes Put Yourself in the Picture, a 20-foot-high vessel with an interactive viewing platform, representing the first time the artist has worked at this monumental scale.
In his current practice, Lugo uses a variety of clay bodies, including porcelain, and illuminates its historically aristocratic surface with imagery that creates conversation around key themes in his work: equity, access, and social and racial justice. His surface treatment is a mixture of traditional design, graffiti, and portraiture focusing on representation of iconic people of color from contemporary culture as well as history, from Sojourner Truth to The Notorious BIG and Lugo’s family members including himself and extending to recent events including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation. The exhibition gallery includes a drop-in maker space that gives visitors the opportunity to experience the materiality of clay as well as a mentorship area with works by artists who influenced Lugo’s work in ceramics.
“For my exhibition at GFS, I reflected on what it means to be the ‘village potter’–both in terms of celebrating the people who have paved the way forward for me and striving to build that sense of community support for others,” said Roberto Lugo. “Art builds empathy as well as an understanding of other people that will lead us to see ourselves in one another and grow a family rather than a society.”
Fragile: Earth is a group exhibition of works by artists of color who meditate on social, environmental, and individual perceptions of fragility through the medium of clay. The exhibition is presented in partnership with The Color Network, which seeks to advance people of color in the ceramic arts through community-building, events, exhibitions, mentorship, and other resources. The 16 artists whose works are on view were selected through The Color Network, by curatorial invitation, and through an open call. United by their ceramics practice and inclusive of a myriad of social, cultural, economic, geographical, and ethnic backgrounds, the featured artists are Natalia Arbelaez, Ashwini Bhat, Ebitenyefa Baralaye, Syd Carpenter, Adam Chau, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Magdolene Dykstra, April Felipe, Raheleh Filsoofi, Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Anabel Juárez, Anina Major, Jane Margarette, Mariana Ramos Ortiz, Virgil Ortiz, and Sarah Petty.
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Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth are supported by lead sponsor Bank of America, with major support from the Edna W. Andrade Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation, the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and Marjorie Ogilvie and Miller Parker. Additional generous exhibition support by the Brooke Barrie Art Fund, Judith Burgis, Drs. Umesh and Sunanda Gaur, Holman, NRG, Princetel, PSEG, and Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Both Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth are on view to the public with general admission. Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Reservations can be made online at groundsforsculpture.org.
Also on view now at Grounds For Sculpture:
Night Forms: Infinite Wave, an immersive multi-sensory experience described by Klip Collective’s creative director/founder Ricardo Rivera as “a psychedelic playground of art, music, and light.” Open now through April 2, 2023.
Follow Grounds For Sculpture on Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtag #groundsforsculpture.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre, not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring more than 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists, in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic interactive family events. With an interdisciplinary focus on art and nature, Grounds For Sculpture actively explores wellness and well-being through its ongoing programming and visitor offerings. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
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Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture Announces Perspectives, a New Series to Launch in Spring 2023 with Inaugural Exhibitions Spiral Q: The Parade and Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits
Hamilton, NJ – December 15, 2022 – Grounds For Sculpture will present two exhibitions in Spring 2023, launching a new series, Perspectives, that will explore the role of art in conveying, interpreting, and sharing the voices and experiences of individuals and communities, working in partnership with GFS’ regional audiences. One of the exhibitions–Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits–will provide a multi-faceted portrait of the Indian community in New Jersey through oral histories as well as visual and audio resources assembled by artist, teacher, and journalist Madhusmita Bora; while the second exhibition, Spiral Q: The Parade, will focus on the locally and nationally recognized puppet making organization, Spiral Q, with its rich history of take it to the street advocacy processions for social and political change.
Both exhibitions will be on view from April 23, 2023, through January 7, 2024, in Grounds For Sculpture’s Domestic Arts Building.
“As a sculpture park, museum, and arboretum, Grounds For Sculpture explores the interplay between art and nature. We are committed to engaging and challenging visitors of all ages and backgrounds with exhibitions and collections presenting the work of contemporary artists through sculpture,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “The new Perspectives series will turn a spotlight on the many ways contemporary artists are reflecting on our world and responding to subjects and issues of today, many of whom are advocating for positive social and political change individually and within their communities.”
Kathleen Ogilvie Greene, Chief Audience Officer at Grounds For Sculpture and lead curator of both exhibitions, added, “Both of our upcoming shows are an opportunity for us to get to know our audiences better, through artist-led and community-driven exhibitions. Both Spiral Q and Madhu Bora have been amazing partners and we are excited to present personal, individual stories within one show and the power of our collective voices in the other. I’m particularly delighted to be working on both exhibitions with co-curator Quentin Williams, who brings his expertise as a curator, activist, poet, and marketer to the team. We look forward to presenting these exhibitions to our visitors in April.”
Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits
April 23, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Grounds For Sculpture is partnering with Madhusmita Bora–a folk and traditional artist, teacher, writer, and activist, as well as an Assamese-American dancer and founder of Sattriya Dance Company–to go hyperlocal as she gathers oral histories from within New Jersey’s robust Indian community. This exhibition will showcase large-format portraits on view, hanging banners, personal objects of meaning, and video and audio clips of individuals sharing personal stories. Stories will be shared in English and the native languages of the storytellers. Participants in this project reflect a broad scope of this community through the lens of ability, age, economics, education, immigration status, language, religion, and sexual orientation. Join us as we stay hyperlocal and focus on the intimate stories that connect us through love, loss, and resilience.
This exhibition is Artist Led, Community Driven, presenting an opportunity to engage our community with the lead artist’s creative practice, while encouraging community members to express their stories, ideas, and passions through the artist’s medium, or process, of choice.
Public programs accompanying Local Voices will include a spring performance by Sattriya Dance Company, pop-up performances in the summer by multidisciplinary artists responding to the exhibition, and a storytelling workshop and panel discussion to round out the year.
Grounds For Sculpture is also working with the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) as a preservation partner, to ensure that the stories shared within this exhibition will be archived permanently for the benefit of future generations.
Spiral Q: The Parade
April 23, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Spiral Q: The Parade is an exhibition rooted in communal and collective advocacy. This exhibition will include a site-specific installation highlighting Spiral Q’s rich history of social justice through memorial tributes, banner creation, wearable puppets, and large-scale puppet creations. More than 50 objects will be on view in the gallery, all of which are created by Spiral Q with and for individuals advocating for their communities on topics ranging from housing insecurity to voting rights and much more.
Founded in 1996, Spiral Q is a Philadelphia-based, non-profit organization that has become widely known for its originality, capacity to inspire individuals of all ages and backgrounds, and ability to creatively invigorate communities. They use artmaking, organizing, and their own inquiry-based methodology to model and teach practical skills in collaboration, community organizing, advocacy, and identifying and mobilizing shared resources.
Spiral Q works with around 3,000 individuals each year and brings their public work to audiences of approximately 30,000 annually. Their mission is “to build strong and equitable communities characterized by creativity, joy, can-do attitudes, and the courage to act on their convictions.”
They are perhaps best known for producing parades and community festivals based on the creative and cultural traditions and practices of the people involved. These events are designed to create space for creative self- and community expression; to spotlight visual, movement, and musical artists; and to bring communities together.
Spiral Q will lead a week-long residency in spring 2023 at Artworks Trenton’s visual arts center in downtown Trenton. Community members and organizations from Trenton will be invited to create puppets and banners for a potential two-mile procession from Artworks Trenton to Grounds For Sculpture. Select creations from the residency will then be displayed in the Spiral Q exhibition space at Grounds For Sculpture.
Additional programs will include an on-site maker space within the exhibition where participants can make their own protest signs; multiple public workshops throughout the summer and fall focused on puppet making for all ages; and a panel discussion with Spiral Q and community stakeholders at the end of the year.
“Spiral is a symbol of magic and emotion and power, but it comes from a small agitation like a tornado. Tornadoes don’t just happen, they come from very special environments and as more things are added to it the tornado gets stronger and stronger. It’s very focused. And Q is queer, it’s the unwanted, it’s the better left invisible, it’s the disgusting, the ones that shouldn’t be heard from. The ones that should be kept down. It’s the poor people’s theater; it’s very accessible. It can be an entryway to performance and theater that is very simple. It’s a form of personal justice.”
–Mattyboy Hart, founder of Spiral Q, quoted in 2001
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Local Voices: Memories, Stories, and Portraits and Spiral Q: The Parade Generous exhibition support by the Brooke Barrie Art Fund and NRG, and supported in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Follow Grounds For Sculpture on Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtag #groundsforsculpture.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre, not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring more than 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists, in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic interactive family events. With an interdisciplinary focus on art and nature, Grounds For Sculpture actively explores wellness and well-being through its ongoing programming and visitor offerings. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
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Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture to Present Interactive Light and Sound Experience in Collaboration with Klip Collective
Infinite Wave Represents Second Iteration of Night Forms, a Site-Specific Commission Presented in Dialogue with the Sculpture Park’s Natural Landscape and Collection of Contemporary Art
Hamilton, NJ — November 11, 2022 — Night Forms: Infinite Wave, a site-specific multi-sensory experience, will be on view at Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) from November 25 through April 2, 2023. This second installment of GFS’s partnership with Klip Collective will activate the sculpture park with an expanded presentation of 12 sound and light installations to create an interactive, immersive environment during evening hours that is designed to engage visitors with Grounds For Sculpture’s art and horticulture collection.
“We are thrilled to present Night Forms: Infinite Wave and offer visitors the opportunity to encounter the interplay between art and the environment up close. By design, the audio-visual artworks on view respond to and interact with the surrounding nature, resulting in a dynamic experience that visitors can return to again and again for fresh perspectives,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “Building off the success of the first installment of Night Forms, this year’s iteration reflects our continued vision of bringing innovations in art to Grounds For Sculpture.”
Night Forms: Infinite Wave’s evening landscape will be created through lighting, sound, and video projection mapping, a process pioneered by Klip Collective. Designed to provide unique dialogues with specific art works in the collection–including Carlos Dorrien’s The Nine Muses, as well as sculptures by Bruce Beasley, Elizabeth Strong-Cuevas, and Isaac Witkin–the exhibition will offer new perspectives on the works of art and multi-dimensional space. Infinite Wave will also reinterpret popular works, such as Frog Head Rainbow featuring artist Michelle Post’s sculpture The Oligarchs. The 12 installations will be situated at intervals along Grounds For Sculpture’s Main Loop path and will punctuate the darkness of night. Their patterns of light will be syncopated to original soundtracks and planned glitches will remind visitors that behind the dreamlike visual scenes is an invisible array of computer code.
Among the new aspects to this year’s exhibition are interactive elements at two of the installations that will intensify the visitor’s experience. At Bruce Beasley’s work Dorion, the installation includes a joystick which, when moved, seems to alter the projection and provides a heightened sense of illusion. And in the amphitheater, two musical xylophones that can be played by visitors create a corresponding ripple effect through the installation. Building on the inspiration that Ricardo Rivera–creative director and founder of Klip Collective–takes from these sculptures and the surrounding landscape, he invites viewers to participate by crossing the invisible boundary between artist and audience.
Ricardo Rivera commented, “As you step into Infinite Wave, you get swept into a psychedelic playground of art, music, and light. Infinite Wave is an evolution and remix of 2021’s Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective. A new path starts where we left off and takes you through new and reimagined works. We’ve added new music and interactive elements, allowing visitors to be players of not only the visuals, but the sounds as well.”
The exhibition is curated by Faith McClellan, Director of Collections and Exhibitions at Grounds For Sculpture.
Grounds For Sculpture thanks lead sponsor Bank of America for their generous support of Night Forms, including underwriting free admission for nonprofit community partners. “Too often, the cost of a ticket can be a barrier for members of our community,” said Alberto Garofalo, Bank of America New Jersey Market President. “Providing equitable access to such an impactful production is important to us, and we encourage those eligible to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Night Forms: Infinite Wave is supported by lead sponsor Bank of America and the following exhibition supporters: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Capital Health, Chubb, Donna M. Murray – Compass Real Estate, Geoscape, NJM Insurance Group, NRG, Oliver Communications Group Inc., and PSE&G.
Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Member Preview Night
Grounds For Sculpture will hold a special preview night for its Members on November 19, 2022. Members can access the Member Preview Night, buy discounted tickets to the exhibition (for visits November 25, 2022 to April 2, 2023, during public hours), and enjoy other exclusive benefits. Reservations are required.
Press Preview
A special viewing of the exhibition for accredited journalists will take place on Wednesday, November 16, 4:30-7:30pm. Reservations are required. Contact: press@groundsforsculpture.org.
Hours and Ticketing
Tickets for Night Forms: Infinite Wave are now on sale.
Exhibition hours are Thursday – Sunday, Sunset to 11pm (last ticket available at 9:30pm).
Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Reservations can be made online at groundsforsculpture.org/nightforms. Capacity is limited and tickets often sell out on weekends and holidays.
Enjoy Night Forms with a special Experience Package. With two options available, find the perfect way to enhance your visit to Night Forms this season.
Grounds For Sculpture Members enjoy discounted tickets to Night Forms, access to Member Preview Night on November 19, 2022, and other exclusive benefits. Not a Member? Learn more.
Follow Grounds For Sculpture and Night Forms: Infinite Wave on Facebook and Instagram, using the hashtags #nightforms, #infinite wave, and #groundsforsculpture.
About Ricardo Rivera and Klip Collective
Ricardo Rivera is a site-specific multimedia artist and pioneer of projection mapping. He has directed several ambient sight and sound experiences, including Nightscape at Longwood Gardens and Electric Desert at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. As a Sundance Story Lab fellow and Creative Capital award recipient, Rivera applies his live performance, video installation, and film background in the transformation of spaces, layering architecture and filling landscapes with light and sound.
Klip Collective, founded and led by Ricardo Rivera, is a Philadelphia-based creative studio that uses a unique synthesis of projection mapping, lighting, and sound design to create captive, immersive sensory experiences. Since its founding in 2003, the studio has produced works with numerous cultural partners and institutions including the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow, Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier, Monument Lab, and Longwood Gardens to present site-specific, large-scale explorations of perception and imagination. Through the creation of an immersive visual and sonic landscape that draws inspiration from–and adds dimension to–a space, audiences are invited to interact and participate in a dynamically transformed atmosphere.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre, not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum founded by the late Seward Johnson. Featuring nearly 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists, in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors from all backgrounds in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic interactive family events. With an interdisciplinary focus on art and nature, Grounds For Sculpture actively explores wellness and well-being through its ongoing programming and visitor offerings. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas by public transit and is open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
About Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world’s leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 68 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,900 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs and award-winning digital banking with approximately 56 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and approximately 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Learn more at about.bankofamerica.com, and connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).
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Media Contact
Lauren Collalto
Grounds For Sculpture
IN MEMORIAM
Brian Carey
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Brian Carey on September 6 at the age of 83.
Brian was an architect, landscape designer, sculptor, and member of the Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) Founding Team. His keen ability to find creative ways to adaptively reuse everything – from broken bricks from the old fairgrounds to specimens discarded from plant nurseries – and turn that material into something magical, can be seen throughout the grounds, from the design of the Sculpture Court to the Maple Alleé. Alongside Bruce Daniels and the late Brooke Barrie, he worked to make Seward Johnson’s extraordinary ideas and dreams tangible when we first opened our doors thirty years ago, in 1992.
GFS Executive Director, Gary Garrido Schneider, said: “This is a monumental loss to Grounds For Sculpture, which is a tremendous legacy to his immense talent and personal dedication. It cannot be overstated how central Brian’s design aesthetic and horticultural passion are to the park we know and love today. The initial plan of the park and the adaptive reuse of the former fairground buildings as light-filled galleries sheathed in glass, as well as the realization of the Welcome Center in The Seward Johnson Center for the Arts building, Rat’s Restaurant, and the gazebo are all projects he designed. His love of horticulture, nature, and garden design are experienced viscerally at GFS as our visitors follow the meandering paths through the park. Brian will be sorely missed. Our thoughts are with longtime partner, Valerie Tomaselli, his family, and many friends.”
Former colleague Bruce Daniels recalls: “I worked with Brian for over 30 years at Grounds For Sculpture – from before it had a name through a time when it was proclaimed ‘one of the most intriguing and provocative sites’ in the State. The American Institute of Architects could have been describing Brian himself. He was a brilliant designer of buildings and landscapes, a fabulous teller of tales, and a true friend. Brian seemed to know almost everything, and to have been just about everywhere. I will miss him, but his spirit will always be present in this place.”
Brian Carey/ACBC won a competition for the design of Grounds For Sculpture in 1985 and developed virtually all the buildings and the landscape since then. All That Is Solid Melts Into Air, his sculpture in the Grounds For Sculpture collection, was designed to present a duality between the monumentally solid base stones and the elevated slabs of granite lifted above it, as if weightless and floating.
In addition to his work at GFS, he also designed several healing gardens at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, creating spaces that promote wellness through the combination of art and nature. His work has been exhibited at OK Harris and Kamikaze Gallery in New York City, the Elena Zang Gallery in Woodstock, NY, and the University of Northumbria, UK, and can also be found in private collections. He served on the board of Metro Hort Group and the Queens Botanical Garden, where he was a member of the Advisory Committee and Horticultural Committee. He was also a long-time member of the Explorers Club and the American Alpine Club.
Brian Carey’s life and legacy are celebrated here in the New York Times (September 15, 2022).
Grounds For Sculpture
Johnson Atelier
The Atlantic Foundation
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For further information, please contact:
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture Announces the Election of Four New Members to its Board of Trustees
Board Expansion Comes as the Sculpture Park Continues to Strengthen its Cultural Impact Across the New Jersey Region and Beyond
Hamilton, NJ – July 19, 2022 – Today, Grounds For Sculpture announced that four new members have been elected to its Board of Trustees. Michelle J. Bajwa, Cataldo Doria, and Umesh Gaur joined the Board in December 2021, and Nick Pahade joined in June 2022. In addition, longstanding Trustee Penelope Lattimer has assumed the position of Vice President. The cohort joins the leadership of Grounds For Sculpture at time when the institution remains committed to expanding and deepening its impact by growing as a cultural hub, strengthening its engagement with a diverse audience, and maximizing its educational reach throughout the region and beyond.
As community leaders across industries including medicine, finance, digital media, education, and information technology, the incoming Trustees bring a wide range of skill sets, a diversity of backgrounds, and philanthropic initiative to the Board. Together, they will work with current board members and staff leadership to further Grounds For Sculpture’s position as a leading cultural organization in New Jersey that invites a diverse public to create, learn, and discover personal meaning in their interactions with art, artists, nature and one another.
“We are thrilled to welcome these four outstanding community leaders to our Board of Trustees, and to see Dr. Lattimer assume a greater leadership role following her 7 years of service. We are eager to tap into their knowledge and expertise as we continue to build on a vibrant, 30-year foundation of success to develop the next chapter of Grounds For Sculpture’s history,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “Together, we share the common goal of creating a truly inclusive, reflective, and responsive oasis that serves local communities and provides a culturally and educationally enriching experience at the intersection of art and nature.”
Michelle J. Bajwa
Michelle Bajwa is an entrepreneur in the IT space, and currently serves as Vice President of Bizratings.com/360score.me, a startup software services company she co-owns with her husband and business partner Rashaad Bajwa. Previously, she co-founded Domain Computer Services, Inc while still a college student. For the next 20 years, Domain established itself as a leader in the managed IT services space. Bajwa completed her undergraduate degree at Rutgers University.
In addition to her professional endeavors, Bajwa is an active community member and serves as the President of the Board of Directors at Womanspace, Inc. and as a Trustee Member for Chapin School in Princeton. Previously, she partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County to create an IT internship called “The Domain Future Tech Academy,” which sponsored basic IT experiential learning opportunities for high school students.
Cataldo Doria
Cataldo Doria is an internationally renowned surgeon who serves as Medical Director at the Capital Health System Cancer Center in Pennington, NJ, where he oversees clinical operations including disease specific clinical performance groups, clinical research, and cancer care advancements. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Doria has held faculty positions at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Temple University College of Science & Technology, IsMETT – UPMC Italy, the Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and the University of Perugia (Italy).
Dr. Doria received his medical degree at University of Perugia School of Medicine, where he also completed his internship and residency. He is a member of a number of professional societies and associations, including the American Hepato Pancreato Biliary Association, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.
Umesh Gaur
Umesh Gaur, Ph.D. is the President of Gaur Asset Management and its principal portfolio manager. Gaur holds a master’s degree from Indian Institute of Technology, and a doctorate in chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He completed Financial Planning Institute’s program to be a Certified Financial Planner at Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1998. He is presently a member of the South Asian Art Advisory Committee at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and previously served on the Board of Overseers at the Peabody Essex Museum (Salem, MA).
Together with his wife Sunanda, Gaur has amassed a significant collection of modern and contemporary Indian art. The Gaur Collection includes about 400 paintings, works on paper, prints, tribal and folk paintings, sculptures and photography, and has been exhibited at a number of institutions including the Rubin Museum of Art (New York), the Surrey Art Gallery (Surrey, Canada), and the Frost Art Museum (Miami).
Penelope Lattimer
Penelope Lattimer is the former Director of the Rutgers Institute to Improve Student Achievement (RIISA). Dr. Lattimer is a former Assistant New Jersey State Commissioner of Education, and has served as an Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, a high school principal, and teacher.
In addition to her career in the education sphere, Dr. Lattimer is a community leader committed to arts advocacy and philanthropic endeavors. She has been a member of the Grounds For Sculpture Board of Trustees since 2015, and recently served as the President of George Street Playhouse Board of Directors. Previously, she sat on the boards of Crossroads Roads Theatre Company and American Repertory Ballet/Princeton Ballet School, and was a member of the New Jersey Council on The Arts.
Nick Pahade
Nick Pahade is a pioneer of digital marketing with over two decades of leadership experience across digital and media agencies as well as ecommerce and technology platforms. Currently, he serves as CEO of CrowdHere, a digital services agency he recently incubated.
Previously, Pahade served as CEO and Chairman of Poptent, leading its merger with Vizy, and led U.S. and Canadian operations as President and CEO of Initiative North America, one of the Interpublic Group’s two worldwide media networks. He has also served as CEO of digital media management platform Traffiq, President of TrueAction, President of Denuo, and Managing Director of Mediacom Digital. Pahade holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biopsychology and marketing from the University of Michigan.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late artist and philanthropist Seward Johnson. Featuring nearly 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage all visitors in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic family events. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and is now open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contacts
Jenny Levine / Julia Exelbert
Resnicow and Associates Press Office
212-671-5189 / 212-671-5155
jlevine@resnicow.com / jexelbert@resnicow.com
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
In Partnership with The Color Network, Spring Exhibition at Grounds For Sculpture
Responds to the Duality of Clay, Expressing its Strength and Vulnerability
Group Exhibition Spotlights 16 Ceramic Artists of Color
Hamilton, NJ – UPDATE May 17, 2022 – This spring, Grounds For Sculpture will present a group exhibition of works by artists of color who meditate on social, environmental, and individual perceptions of fragility through the medium of clay. The exhibition is presented in partnership with The Color Network, which seeks to advance people of color in the ceramic arts through community-building, events, exhibitions, mentorship, and other resources. On view May 22, 2022 – January 8, 2023, Fragile: Earth will predominantly feature artists that identify as female and nearly half of the artists in the exhibition will be debuting new works.
Fragile: Earth is concurrent with a solo exhibition of Roberto Lugo, a master ceramicist who is best known for his multicultural mash-ups depicting leading Black cultural figures in porcelain and has frequently collaborated with The Color Network. Together these exhibitions support Grounds For Sculpture’s institutional mission, which uses key components of curatorial work, collections, and exhibitions as a catalyst for transformation across the organization, addressing issues of inclusivity, access, and equity.
“As a platform for contemporary art and artists, Grounds For Sculpture amplifies the diverse voices and visions of those working in the field today. This spring, our focused look at the underrepresented medium of ceramics shines a light on artists of color firing a new future in clay,” said Gary Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “The new partnership with The Color Network expands our commitment to fostering an open community of artists and brings their compelling works to the forefront of the contemporary conversation on sculpture.”
Organized by guest curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, the 16 artists were selected through The Color Network, by curatorial invitation, and through an open call. United by their ceramics practice and inclusive of a myriad of social, cultural, economic, geographical, and ethnic backgrounds, the featured artists are Natalia Arbelaez, Ashwini Bhat, Ebitenyefa Baralaye, Syd Carpenter, Adam Chau, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Magdolene Dykstra, April Felipe, Raheleh Filsoofi, Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Anabel Juárez, Anina Major, Jane Margarette, Mariana Ramos Ortiz, Virgil Ortiz, and Sarah Petty.
“When unfired, clay is soft, flexible, and forgiving; when fired, it is solid and strong but can easily shatter,” added exhibition curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy. “This exhibition explores vulnerability as strength, the faults of a strong façade, and the fragility of entities often taken for granted, such as nature and government, amid ongoing global health and social crises.”
The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of artist-led programs, including community workshops in ceramics, storytelling, and self-reflection as well as art sessions, ESL/Spanish offerings, and professional development for artists presented by both Grounds For Sculpture and The Color Network. The partners will also co-host a fall auction, Fragile: Cup, which will offer one-of-a-kind ceramic mugs created by contemporary artists for sale to support the mission of The Color Network.
Supporters
Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth are supported by lead sponsor Bank of America, with major support from the Edna W. Andrade Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation, the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and Marjorie Ogilvie and Miller Parker. Additional generous exhibition support by the Brooke Barrie Art Fund, Judith Burgis, Drs. Umesh and Sunanda Gaur, Holman, NRG, Princetel, PSEG, and Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Member Preview Day
Grounds For Sculpture will hold a special preview day for its Members on Saturday, May 21, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibitions Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth, which will not open to the general public until the following day, will both be on view and programs include opportunities to meet the artists and curators. Member reservations are required.
Hours and Ticketing
Both Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth will be on view to the public with general admission. Grounds For Sculpture hours for visitors are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am-6pm; Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10am-9pm; closed Tuesday.* Visitors should check the Grounds For Sculpture website for extended hours.
Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Reservations can be made online at groundsforsculpture.org. Capacity is limited and tickets often sell out on weekends and holidays. Member reservations are required on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) and holidays. Tickets are available up to two weeks in advance and are released on a weekly basis.
*Starting May 30, Grounds for Sculpture will be open Monday – Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday – Sunday 10am-9pm, through September 5, 2022
About The Color Network
The Color Network’s mission is to aid in the advancement of people of color in the ceramic arts. Their focus includes exhibitions, an online database, community events, and mentorship. Since 2018, The Color Network has created an international Mentorship program, curated exhibitions, held a residency at Watershed Ceramics, and provided opportunities through micro grants and an artists’ listserv. Its active Instagram page (@thecolornetwork) highlights both established and rising stars in the ceramics field, as well as resources for the community. The Color Network also holds panels, resource tables, community events, and exhibitions during the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts conference, as well as periodic affinity rooms and safe rooms for specific communities.
About Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy
Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy is a Los Angeles-based independent curator, writer, and arts administrator of contemporary art and craft. Her current research focuses on the subversive power of humor, cuteness, and leisure as tools of protest. Amplifying the voices of BIPOC artists is central to her practice. She recently served as Assistant Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), NY where, in addition to her work contributing to over 20 exhibitions, she oversaw MAD’s Burke Prize, a prestigious contemporary craft award. Other recent projects include exhibitions Belonging: 2022 NCECA Annual (2022) at the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; The Universe Within (2022) at Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL; Sleight of Hand (2020) at the Center for Craft, NC, where she was a 2020 curatorial fellow; and Clay is Just Thick Paint (2020) at Greenwich House Pottery, NY. She has also contributed to Cultured and American Craft magazines and multiple exhibition catalogs, and is the creator and co-host of the podcast Clay in Color. She holds an MA from the Bard Graduate Center, NY, in Decorative Arts, Design History, & Material Culture.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late artist and philanthropist Seward Johnson. Featuring nearly 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage all visitors in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic family events. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and is now open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contacts
Jenny Levine/Julia Exelbert
Resnicow and Associates
212-671-5189 / 212-671-5155
jlevine@resnicow.com / jexelbert@resnicow.com
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Roberto Lugo Debuts New Works in Solo Exhibition at Grounds For Sculpture
On-Site Residency Leads to Lugo’s First Monumental Sculpture
Hamilton, NJ – UPDATE May 17, 2022 – A solo exhibition highlighting Roberto Lugo will debut all new works by the artist, social activist, spoken word poet, and educator at Grounds For Sculpture this spring. Reimagining traditional European and Asian porcelain forms and techniques with a 21st-century street sensibility, these multicultural mash-ups were created on site during a residency at Grounds For Sculpture this winter. Opening May 22, 2022 and on view through January 8, 2023, Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter includes a 20-ft high vessel with an interactive viewing platform – representing the first time the artist has worked at this scale.
“Grounds For Sculpture amplifies the diverse voices and visions of those working in the field today,” said Gary Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture and co-curator of the exhibition, along with Faith McClellan, Director of Exhibitions and Collections. “As an artist, Roberto addresses equity and justice through visually compelling and exquisitely made ceramics; as a person, he shares our commitment to making art accessible to all.”
Born in Kensington, Philadelphia to Puerto Rican parents, Roberto Lugo began his explorations in art as a graffiti artist before discovering ceramics. In his current practice, he uses a variety of clay bodies, including porcelain, and illuminates its historically aristocratic surface with imagery that creates conversation around key themes in his work: equity, access, and social and racial justice. His surface treatment is a mixture of traditional design, graffiti, and portraiture focusing on representation of iconic people of color from contemporary culture and history, from Sojourner Truth, Dr. Cornel West, and The Notorious BIG, to Lugo’s family members and, very often, himself.
For Grounds For Sculpture’s exhibition, Lugo created his first monumental sculpture in milled foam. Titled Put Yourself in the Picture, the work was completed by the artist on site during his residency, fabricated at The Digital Atelier, and then painted by Lugo at The Seward Johnson Atelier. Visitors will be invited to walk in and through the vessel via the viewing platform, which will also be activated as a performative stage and DJ booth at set times during the run of the exhibition. A drop-in maker space in the gallery further extends the interactivity of the exhibition, providing the opportunity to experience the materiality of clay.
Additional new ceramic works in the exhibition include at least eight large-scale vessels and more intimately sized tea sets, with new subject matter addressing recent events such as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation and the locality of Grounds For Sculpture, including its iconic peacocks. The mezzanine of the gallery includes a selection of work by other artists, curated by Lugo, and explores the theme of mentorship in the development of his practice.
“For my exhibition at Grounds For Sculpture, I reflected on what it means to be the ‘village potter’—both in terms of celebrating the people who have paved the way forward for me and striving to build that sense of community support for others,” said Roberto Lugo. “Art builds empathy as well as an understanding of other people that will lead us to see ourselves in one another and grow a family rather than a society.”
As part of Grounds For Sculpture’s in-depth exploration of ceramics this spring, a concurrent exhibition in partnership with The Color Network and Guest Curated by Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy features sixteen artists of color working in clay and using the medium to meditate on social, environmental, and individual perceptions of fragility. A series of artist-led programs will activate these themes and provide new avenues for audience participation and community engagement.
Supporters
Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth are supported by lead sponsor Bank of America, with major support from the Edna W. Andrade Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, The Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation, the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and Marjorie Ogilvie and Miller Parker. Additional generous exhibition support by the Brooke Barrie Art Fund, Judith Burgis, Drs. Umesh and Sunanda Gaur, Holman, NRG, Princetel, PSEG, and Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind. Support is provided in part by the Atlantic Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Member Preview Day
Grounds For Sculpture will hold a special preview day for its Members on Saturday, May 21, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The exhibitions Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth, which will not open to the general public until the following day, will both be on view and programs include opportunities to meet the artists and curators. Member reservations are required.
Hours and Ticketing
Both Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth will be on view to the public with general admission. Grounds For Sculpture hours for visitors are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am-6pm; Friday, Saturday, Sunday 10am-9pm; closed Tuesday.* Visitors should check the Grounds For Sculpture website for extended hours.
Advance timed ticket reservations are highly recommended to ensure entry. Reservations can be made online at groundsforsculpture.org. Capacity is limited and tickets often sell out on weekends and holidays. Member reservations are required on weekends (Saturdays and Sundays) and holidays. Tickets are available up to two weeks in advance and are released on a weekly basis.
*Starting May 30, Grounds for Sculpture will be open Monday – Thursday 10am-6pm, Friday – Sunday 10am-9pm, through September 5, 2022
About Roberto Lugo
Roberto Lugo holds a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from Penn State. His work has been featured in exhibitions at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, among others. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 2019 Pew Fellowship, a Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize, and a US Artist Award. His work is found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The High Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Brooklyn Museum, Walters Art Museum, and more. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia, PA.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late artist and philanthropist Seward Johnson. Featuring more than 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage all visitors in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic family events. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and is now open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contacts
Jenny Levine / Julia Exelbert
Resnicow and Associates
212-671-5189 / 212-671-5155
jlevine@resnicow.com / jexelbert@resnicow.com
Lauren Collalto
Press Office, Grounds For Sculpture
Roberto Lugo presenta nuevas obras en una exposición individual en Grounds For Sculpture
La residencia en el lugar conduce hacia la primera escultura monumental de Lugo
Hamilton, Nueva Jersey, 18 de abril de 2022; actualizado el 17 de mayo de 2022: Una exposición individual que destaca a Roberto Lugo, se presentarán en Grounds For Sculpture esta primavera todas las obras nuevas del artista, activista social, poeta de la palabra hablada y educador. Reimaginando formas y técnicas de porcelana tradicionales europeas y asiáticas con una sensibilidad callejera del siglo XXI, estas mezclas multiculturales se crearon en el lugar durante una residencia en Grounds For Sculpture el pasado invierno. Inaugurado el 22 de mayo de 2022 y en exhibición hasta el 8 de enero de 2023, Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter incluye una vasija de 20 pies de altura con una plataforma de visualización interactiva, lo que significa la primera vez que el artista trabaja a esta escala.
“Grounds For Sculpture amplifica las diversas voces y visiones de quienes trabajan en el campo hoy en día”, dijo Gary Schneider, Director Ejecutivo de Grounds For Sculpture y co-curador de la exposición, junto con Faith McClellan, Directora de Exposiciones y Colecciones. “Como artista, Roberto aborda la equidad y la justicia a través de cerámicas visualmente atractivas y exquisitamente elaboradas; como persona, comparte nuestro compromiso de hacer que el arte sea accesible para todos”.
Nacido en Kensington, Filadelfia, de padres puertorriqueños, Roberto Lugo comenzó sus exploraciones en el arte a través del grafiti, antes de descubrir la cerámica. En su práctica actual, utiliza una variedad de cuerpos de arcilla, incluida la porcelana, e ilumina su superficie históricamente aristocrática con imágenes que crean una conversación en torno a temas clave en su obra: equidad, acceso y justicia social y racial. Su tratamiento de superficie es una mezcla de diseño tradicional, grafiti y retrato, que se centra en la representación de personas de color icónicas de la cultura y la historia contemporáneas, desde Sojourner Truth, Dr. Cornel West y The Notorious BIG, hasta los miembros de la familia de Lugo y, muy a menudo, él mismo.
Para la exposición de Grounds For Sculpture, Lugo creó su primera escultura monumental en gomaespuma molida. Titulada Put Yourself in the Picture, la obra fue completada por el artista en el sitio durante su residencia, fabricada en The Digital Atelier y luego pintada por Lugo en The Seward Johnson Atelier. Se invitará a los visitantes a caminar dentro y a través de la vasija por medio de la plataforma de observación, que también se activará como escenario escénico y cabina de DJ en horarios establecidos durante la exhibición. Un espacio de creación en la galería amplía aún más la interactividad de la exposición, brindando la oportunidad de experimentar la materialidad de la arcilla.
Las nuevas obras de cerámica adicionales en la exposición incluyen al menos ocho vasijas a gran escala y juegos de té de tamaño más íntimo, con nuevos temas que abordan eventos recientes, como la confirmación en la Corte Suprema del juez Ketanji Brown Jackson y la localidad de Grounds For Sculpture, incluidos sus icónicos pavos reales. El entrepiso de la galería incluye una selección de obras de otros artistas, curadas por Lugo, y explora el tema de la tutoría en el desarrollo de su práctica.
“Para mi exhibición en Grounds For Sculpture, reflexioné sobre lo que significa ser el ‘alfarero del pueblo’, tanto en términos de celebrar a las personas que me han abierto el camino, como de esforzarme en construir ese sentido de apoyo comunitario para los demás. ”, dijo Roberto Lugo. “El arte genera empatía, así como una comprensión de otras personas que nos llevará a vernos a nosotros mismos en los demás y formar una familia, en lugar de una sociedad”.
Como parte de la exploración en profundidad de la cerámica de Grounds For Sculpture esta primavera, una exposición concurrente en colaboración con The Color Network y Guest, curada por Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, cuenta con dieciséis artistas de color que trabajan en arcilla y utilizan el medio para meditar sobre cuestiones sociales, ambientales y percepciones individuales de la fragilidad. Una serie de programas dirigidos por artistas activarán estos temas y brindarán nuevas vías para la participación de la audiencia y la participación de la comunidad.
Partidarios
Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth cuentan con el patrocinio principal de Bank of America y el gran apoyo del Fondo Edna W. Andrade de la Fundación Filadelfia, la Fundación Gordon y Llura Gund, la División de Viajes y Turismo del Departamento de Estado de Nueva Jersey, Marjorie Ogilvie y Miller Parker; adicionalmente, el generoso apoyo para la exhibición del Fondo de Arte Brooke Barrie, Judith Burgis, Drs. Umesh y Sunanda Gaur, Holman, NRG, Princetel, PSEG y Barbara Eberlein y Jerry Wind. El apoyo es proporcionado en parte por Atlantic Foundation, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, una agencia asociada de National Endowment for the Arts, y la Fundación Geraldine R. Dodge.
Día de Previsualización para Miembros
Grounds For Sculpture llevará a cabo un día de vista previa especial para sus miembros el sábado 21 de mayo, de 8 a. m. a 4 p. m. Las exposiciones Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth, no se abrirán al público en general hasta el día siguiente y la programación de sus exhibiciones incluye oportunidades para conocer a los artistas y curadores. Se requieren reservaciones de parte de los aliados.
Horario y Emisión de Entradas
Ambos Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter y Fragile: Earth estarán en exhibición para el público con entrada general. El horario de Grounds For Sculpture para los visitantes es: lunes, miércoles y jueves de 10 a.m. a 6 p.m., viernes, sábado, domingo 10 a.m. a 9 p.m., martes cerrado.* Los visitantes deben consultar el sitio web de Grounds For Sculpture para conocer el horario extendido.
Se recomienda reservar boletos con anticipación para garantizar la entrada. Las reservas se pueden hacer en línea en groundsforsculpture.org. La capacidad es limitada y las entradas suelen agotarse los fines de semana y días festivos. Se requieren reservaciones de parte de los aliados los fines de semana (sábados y domingos) y feriados. Los boletos están disponibles hasta con dos semanas de anticipación y se liberan semanalmente.
*A partir del 30 de mayo, Grounds for Sculpture estará abierto de lunes a jueves de 10 a.m. a 6 p.m., viernes y domingo de 10 a.m. a 9 p.m., hasta el 5 de septiembre de 2022
Sobre Roberto Lugo
Roberto Lugo tiene un BFA del Kansas City Art Institute y un MFA de Penn State. Su trabajo ha sido destacado en exposiciones del Museo de Arte Americano Crystal Bridges, el Centro de Artesanía Contemporánea de Houston y el Museo de Artes y Diseño de Nueva York, entre otros. Ha recibido numerosos premios, incluyendo un Pew Fellowship 2019, los galardones Cynthia Hazen Polsky y Leon Polsky Rome, y un US Artist. Su trabajo se encuentra en las colecciones permanentes del Museo Metropolitano de Arte, el Museo de Arte del Condado de Los Ángeles, el Museo de Arte de Filadelfia, el Museo de Arte High, el Museo de Bellas Artes de Boston, el Museo de Brooklyn, el Museo de Arte Walters y más. Actualmente, es profesor asistente en la Escuela Tyler de Arte y Arquitectura en Filadelfia, Pensilvania.
Sobre Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture es un parque de esculturas, arboreto y museo sin fines de lucro de 42 acres, fundado por el difunto artista y filántropo Seward Johnson. Con más de 300 esculturas contemporáneas de artistas renombrados y emergentes en un paisaje atractivo, Grounds For Sculpture combina el arte y la naturaleza para sorprender, inspirar e involucrar a todos los visitantes en el acto de invención del artista. Además de su colección permanente, Grounds For Sculpture ofrece exposiciones especiales rotativas en sus seis galerías interiores, programas educativos enriquecedores y eventos familiares dinámicos. Ubicado en Hamilton, Nueva Jersey, se puede acceder fácilmente a Grounds For Sculpture desde las áreas metropolitanas de la ciudad de Nueva York y Filadelfia, y ahora está abierto todo el año. Para obtener más información, visite groundsforsculpture.org.
Contactos de prensa
Jenny Levine / Julia Exelbert
Resnicow y Asociados
212-671-5189 / 212-671-5155
jlevine@resnicow.com / jexelbert@resnicow.com
Lauren Collalto
Oficina de Prensa de Grounds For Sculpture
En asociación con The Color Network, exposición de primavera en Grounds For Sculpture
responde a la dualidad de la arcilla, expresando su fuerza y vulnerabilidad
Exposición colectiva destaca a 16 ceramistas de color
Hamilton, Nueva Jersey, 17 de marzo de 2022; actualizado el 17 de mayo de 2022: esta primavera, Grounds For Sculpture presentará una exposición colectiva con obras de artistas de color que meditan sobre las percepciones sociales, ambientales e individuales de la fragilidad, a través de la arcilla. La exposición se presenta en colaboración con The Color Network, que busca promover a las personas de color en las artes cerámicas a través de la creación de comunidades, eventos, exposiciones, tutorías, y otros recursos. Exhibida del 22 de mayo de 2022 al 8 de enero de 2023, Fragile: Earth contará predominantemente con artistas que se identifican como femeninas, casi la mitad de quienes estarán presentando nuevas obras en la exposición.
Fragile: Earth coincide con una exposición individual de Roberto Lugo, un maestro ceramista, mejor conocido por sus mezclas multiculturales que representan a las principales figuras de la cultura negra en porcelana, y quien ha colaborado frecuentemente con The Color Network. Ambas exhibiciones respaldan la misión institucional de Grounds For Sculpture, que utiliza componentes clave del trabajo curatorial, las colecciones y las exhibiciones como un catalizador para la transformación en toda la organización, abordando problemas de inclusión, acceso y equidad.
“Como plataforma para el arte y los artistas contemporáneos, Grounds For Sculpture amplifica las diversas voces y visiones de quienes trabajan en este campo hoy en día. Esta primavera, nuestra mirada enfocada en el medio subrepresentado de la cerámica emite una luz sobre los artistas de color que proyectan un nuevo futuro en la arcilla”, dijo Gary Schneider, director ejecutivo de Grounds For Sculpture. “La nueva asociación con The Color Network amplía nuestro compromiso de fomentar una comunidad abierta de artistas y pone sus cautivadoras obras al frente del debate contemporáneo sobre escultura.”
Organizado por el curador invitado Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, los 16 artistas fueron seleccionados a través de The Color Network, por invitación curatorial y mediante una convocatoria abierta. Unidos por su práctica ceramista e incluyendo una miríada de orígenes sociales, culturales, económicos, geográficos y étnicos, los artistas destacados son Natalia Arbelaez, Ashwini Bhat, Ebitenyefa Baralaye, Syd Carpenter, Adam Chau, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Magdolene Dykstra, April Felipe, Raheleh Filsoofi, Salvador Jiménez-Flores, Anabel Juárez, Anina Major, Jane Margarette, Mariana Ramos Ortiz, Virgil Ortiz, y Sarah Petty.
“Cuando no está cocida, la arcilla es suave, flexible y tolerante; cuando está cocida, es sólida y fuerte, pero se puede romper fácilmente”, agregó el curador de la exposición, Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy. “Esta exposición explora la vulnerabilidad como fuerza, las fallas en una fachada fuerte y la fragilidad de las entidades que a menudo se dan por sentadas, como la naturaleza y el gobierno, en medio de las crisis globales sociales y de salud actuales.”
La exposición irá acompañada de una serie de programas dirigidos por artistas, incluyendo talleres comunitarios de cerámica, narración de cuentos y autorreflexión, así como sesiones de arte, ofertas de ESL/español y desarrollo profesional para artistas presentados por Grounds For Sculpture y The Color Network. Los socios también serán coanfitriones de una subasta de otoño, Fragile: Cup, que ofrecerá para la venta tazas de cerámica únicas creadas por artistas contemporáneos, con el propósito de apoyar la misión de The Color Network.
Partidarios
Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth cuentan con el patrocinio principal de Bank of America y el gran apoyo del Fondo Edna W. Andrade de la Fundación Filadelfia, la Fundación Gordon y Llura Gund, la División de Viajes y Turismo del Departamento de Estad o de Nueva Jersey, Marjorie Ogilvie y Miller Parker; adicionalmente, el generoso apoyo para la exhibición del Fondo de Arte Brooke Barrie, Judith Burgis, Drs. Umesh y Sunanda Gaur, Holman, NRG, Princetel, PSEG y Barbara Eberlein y Jerry Wind. El apoyo es proporcionado en parte por Atlantic Foundation, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, una agencia asociada de National Endowment for the Arts, y la Fundación Geraldine R. Dodge.
Día de Previsualización para Miembros
Grounds For Sculpture llevará a cabo un día de vista previa especial para sus miembros el sábado 21 de mayo, de 8 a. m. a 4 p. m. Las exposiciones Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter and Fragile: Earth, no se abrirán al público en general hasta el día siguiente y la programación de sus exhibiciones incluye oportunidades para conocer a los artistas y curadores. Se requieren reservaciones de parte de los aliados.
Horario y Emisión de Entradas
Ambos Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter y Fragile: Earth estarán en exhibición para el público con entrada general. El horario de Grounds For Sculpture para los visitantes es: lunes, miércoles y jueves de 10 a.m. a 6 p.m., viernes, sábado, domingo 10 a.m. a 9 p.m., martes cerrado.* Los visitantes deben consultar el sitio web de Grounds For Sculpture para conocer el horario extendido.
Se recomienda reservar boletos con anticipación para garantizar la entrada. Las reservas se pueden hacer en línea en groundsforsculpture.org. La capacidad es limitada y las entradas suelen agotarse los fines de semana y días festivos. Se requieren reservaciones de parte de los aliados los fines de semana (sábados y domingos) y feriados. Los boletos están disponibles hasta con dos semanas de anticipación y se liberan semanalmente.
*A partir del 30 de mayo, Grounds for Sculpture estará abierto de lunes a jueves de 10 a.m. a 6 p.m., viernes y domingo de 10 a.m. a 9 p.m., hasta el 5 de septiembre de 2022
Acerca de The Color Network
La misión de The Color Network es contribuir con la promoción de las personas de color en las artes cerámicas. Su enfoque incluye exhibiciones, una base de datos en línea, eventos comunitarios y tutoría. Desde 2018, The Color Network ha creado un programa internacional de mentores, curado exposiciones, realizado una residencia en Watershed Ceramics y brindado oportunidades a través de microbecas y un servidor de listas de artistas. Su página activa de Instagram (@thecolornetwork) destaca tanto a estrellas establecidas como emergentes en el campo de la cerámica, así como recursos para la comunidad. The Color Network también organiza paneles, mesas de servicios, eventos comunitarios y exhibiciones durante la conferencia del Consejo Nacional de Educación para las Artes Cerámicas, así como salas de afinidad periódicas y salas seguras para comunidades específicas.
Sobre Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy
Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy es una curadora independiente, escritora y administradora de arte contemporáneo y artesanía, radicada en Los Ángeles. Su investigación actual se centra en el poder subversivo del humor, la ternura y el ocio como herramientas de protesta. Amplificar las voces de los artistas BIPOC es fundamental para su práctica. Recientemente, se desempeñó como curadora asistente en el Museo de Artes y Diseño (MAD), Nueva York, donde, además de contribuir con su trabajo en más de 20 exposiciones, supervisó el Premio MAD’s Burke, un prestigioso galardón de artesanía contemporánea. Otros proyectos recientes incluyen las exposiciones Pertenencia: 2022 NCECA Anual (2022), en el Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; The Universe Within (2022), en Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL; Sleight of Hand, (2020) en el Center for Craft, NC, donde fue becaria curatorial, 2020; y Clay is Just Thick Paint (2020), en Greenwich House Pottery, NY. También ha colaborado en las revistas Cultured,American Craft, en varios catálogos de exposiciones y es la creadora y coanfitriona del podcast Clay in Color. Tiene una maestría del Bard Graduate Center, NY, en Artes Decorativas, Historia del Diseño y Cultura Material.
Sobre Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture es un parque de esculturas, arboreto y museo sin fines de lucro de 42 acres, fundado por el difunto artista y filántropo Seward Johnson. Con cerca de 300 esculturas contemporáneas de artistas renombrados y emergentes en un paisaje atractivo, Grounds For Sculpture combina el arte y la naturaleza para sorprender, inspirar e involucrar a todos los visitantes en el acto de invención del artista. Además de su colección permanente, Grounds For Sculpture ofrece exposiciones especiales rotativas en sus seis galerías interiores, programas educativos enriquecedores y eventos familiares dinámicos. Ubicado en Hamilton, Nueva Jersey, se puede acceder fácilmente a Grounds For Sculpture desde las áreas metropolitanas de la ciudad de Nueva York y Filadelfia, y ahora está abierto todo el año. Para obtener más información, visite groundsforsculpture.org.
Contactos de prensa
Jenny Levine/Julia Exelbert
Resnicow y Asociados
212-671-5189 / 212-671-5155
jlevine@resnicow.com / jexelbert@resnicow.com
Lauren Collalto
Oficina de Prensa de Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture Extends Immersive Light and Sound Exhibition Until April 3rd
Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective is the First Installation of a Two-Year Commission Series To Activate the Sculpture Park during Evenings
Hamilton, NJ –January 24, 2022 – Grounds For Sculpture today announces extended dates for the first exhibition in a two-year partnership with Klip Collective to present a distinctive after-hours multisensory experience. The Night Forms series directly interacts with a selection of contemporary artworks and signature horticultural features across the park’s 42 acres, furthering the nonprofit’s commitment to creating unique experiences bringing art and nature together. Now on view through April 3, 2022, the first commission, Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective, presents a dozen site-specific light and sound works. The innovative and immersive experience offers a rare opportunity to visit the park both at night and during the winter, transforming Grounds For Sculpture into a year-round destination.
“This first step into experimenting with the possibilities of a nightscape has exceeded our expectations,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “We are thrilled to extend our first collaboration with Klip Collective to ensure as many visitors as possible experience their unique response to our art that creates an entirely transformed atmosphere.”
As immersive art gains popularity across the country, Night Forms brings this progressive movement to a new environment. Illuminating the park with projection mapping and lighting synchronized to an artist- commissioned soundtrack, Night Forms expands the viewing plane from the earth to the sky and creates a shared experience that heightens the senses. With this installation, Klip Collective used the opportunity to not only enliven the winter landscape, from the maple allée to the weeping blue atlas cedars, but also to create a robust dialogue with artists of differing media by interacting with the sculptures in the park, including works by Bruce Beasley, Michele Oka Doner, and Michelle Post. Each feature, whether a work of art or nature, is transformed by the light and sound surrounding it.
Visitors are enveloped in the multisensory presentation as they move through the park. By creating a unique experience specific to Grounds For Sculpture, Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective is a totally bespoke event that can only be seen and heard this year at the sculpture park. Timed tickets are required, and are now on sale at groundsforsculpture.org.
Ricardo Rivera, creative director and founder of Klip Collective, is a site-specific media artist and pioneer of projection mapping. Rivera has directed several ambient light and sound experiences, including Nightscape at Longwood Gardens and Electric Desert at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. As a Sundance Story Lab fellow and Creative Capital award recipient, Rivera applies his theater and film background in the transformation of spaces, layering architecture and filling landscapes with light and sound, resulting in immersive, sensory environments.
Grounds For Sculpture thanks lead sponsor Bank of America for their generous support of Night Forms, including underwriting free admission for nonprofit community partners. Alberto Garofalo, Bank of America New Jersey, President, said, “Bank of America is pleased to support the production of Night Forms and to offer members of the community the opportunity to attend without ticket price being a barrier.
Providing equitable access to this exhibition is important to both Grounds For Sculpture and Bank of America as both organizations work to make a positive impact on our community.”
Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective is supported by lead sponsor Bank of America and the following Exhibition Supporters: Bloomberg Philanthropies; Capital Health System; Geoscape; NRG; the Atlantic Foundation; the Johnson Art and Education Foundation; the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
About Klip Collective
Led by multimedia artist and projection pioneer Ricardo Rivera, Klip Collective is a creative studio that uses a unique synthesis of projection mapping, lighting, and sound design to create captivating, immersive sensory experiences. Since its founding in 2003, the studio has collaborated with numerous cultural partners and institutions including Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Center for Contemporary Art in Moscow, Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier, and Longwood Gardens to present site-specific, large-scale explorations of perception and imagination. Through the creation of an immersive visual and sonic landscape that draws inspiration from—and adds dimension to—a space, audiences are invited to interact and participate in a dynamically transformed atmosphere.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late artist and philanthropist Seward Johnson. Featuring nearly 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage all visitors in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic family events. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and is now open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
About Bank of America
At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer, and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact.
Media Contacts
Christina Ludgood / Catherine Coughlin
Resnicow and Associates
212-671-5178 / 212-671-5162
cludgood@resnicow.com / ccoughlin@resnicow.com
Press Office
Grounds For Sculpture
press@groundsforsculpture.org
Exploring the Power of Ceramics, Grounds For Sculpture Presents
Two Exhibitions Highlighting Artists of Color in Spring 2022
A Solo Exhibition of Ceramicist and Social Activist Roberto Lugo will be Paired with a Group Exhibition in Partnership with The Color Network
Hamilton, NJ – November 4, 2021; updated March 21, 2022 – Grounds For Sculpture announces two exhibitions on contemporary ceramics opening in May 2022. Debuting new work, a solo exhibition of American artist and social activist Roberto Lugo will display his signature combination of traditional and contemporary iconography and techniques. In partnership with The Color Network, Grounds For Sculpture will simultaneously present Fragile: Earth, a group exhibition of sixteen artists of color who meditate on social, environmental, and individual perceptions of fragility through the medium of clay. Together these exhibitions support Grounds For Sculpture’s institutional strategy, which uses key components of curatorial work, collections, and exhibitions as a catalyst for transformation across the organization, addressing issues of inclusivity, access, and equity.
“Grounds For Sculpture has always been a platform for contemporary practitioners of sculpture, and this spring, we will take a focused look at the underrepresented medium of ceramics and shine a spotlight on artists of color working in this field,” said Gary Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “These exhibitions reflect our commitment to present works by contemporary sculptors, understanding that sharing contemporary art reflects the greater world, challenges perceptions, and inspires new possibilities.”
ROBERTO LUGO: THE VILLAGE POTTER
May 22, 2022 – January 8, 2023
Master ceramicist Roberto Lugo creates multicultural mash-ups, reimagining traditional European and Asian porcelain forms and techniques with a 21st-century street sensibility. Lugo often captures portraits of leading figures in contemporary culture, from Sojourner Truth to The Notorious BIG, in this luxurious medium. The artist will be in residence at Grounds For Sculpture throughout the winter of 2022, creating a new series of works for the exhibition Robert Lugo: The Village Potter. In partnership with The Seward Johnson Atelier and the Digital Atelier, Lugo will create a monumental work that will provide opportunities for visitors to physically interact within the form—representing a first for the artist to see his visual language presented at that scale. In addition, Lugo will create a series of works which will be fired on site.
“There’s a distinct separation of classes that happened in the history of ceramics—at one point porcelain was considered more than expensive than gold,” said Roberto Lugo. “In my exhibition at Grounds For Sculpture, I want to communicate to people that ceramics are for everyone and that no medium should be reserved for any single group of people.”
Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter is co-curated by Faith McClellan, Grounds For Sculpture Director of Exhibitions and Collections, and Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director. An additional exhibition within the gallery, curated by Lugo, will explore the theme of mentorship in the development of his practice, by including works by both artists who have influenced his work and those he has mentored, such as Malcolm Mobutu Smith, Alfredo Carlson, and Tina Flood. The gallery will also feature a drop-in creative space offering visitors of any skill level an opportunity to work with clay.
Roberto Lugo: The Village Potter is supported in part by New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel & Tourism, and the Edna W. Andrade Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation.
FRAGILE: EARTH
May 22, 2022 – January 8, 2023
In partnership with The Color Network, Fragile: Earth features sixteen artists of color working in clay and using the medium to uncover deeper truths of society. When unfired, clay is soft, flexible, and forgiving; when fired, it is solid and strong but can easily shatter. This exhibition explores vulnerability as strength, the faults of a strong façade, and the fragility of entities often taken for granted, such as nature and government, amid ongoing global health and social crises.
Guest curated by Assistant Curator for the Museum of Arts and Design Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, the exhibition will feature ceramic works by Natalia Arbelaez, Ashwini Bhat, Ebitenyefa Baralaye, Syd Carpenter, Adam Chau, Jennifer Ling Datchuk, Magdolene Dykstra, April Felipe, Raheleh Filsoofi, Salvador Jiménez Flores, Anabel Juárez, Anina Major, Jane Margarette, Mariana Ramos Ortiz, Virgil Ortiz, and Sarah Petty. Artists were selected from within The Color Network as well as an open call to ensure the broad artistic community is represented.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of artist-led programs, including intersections with trauma-informed art sessions, ESL/Spanish workshops, urban gardening, professional development for artists, and a fundraising event to support the mission of The Color Network.
About Roberto Lugo
Roberto Lugo is an American artist, ceramicist, social activist, spoken word poet, and educator. Born in Kensington, Philadelphia to Puerto Rican parents, Lugo began his career as a graffiti artist before discovering ceramics. In his current practice, he uses porcelain and illuminates its aristocratic surface with imagery of poverty, inequality, and social and racial injustice. Their hand-painted surfaces feature classic decorative patterns and motifs combined with elements of modern urban graffiti and portraits of individuals whose faces are historically absent on this type of luxury item – people like Sojourner Truth, Dr. Cornel West, and The Notorious BIG, as well as Lugo’s family members and, very often, himself. Lugo holds a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute and an MFA from Penn State. His work has been featured in exhibitions at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, among others. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 2019 Pew Fellowship, a Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky Rome Prize, and a US Artist Award. His work is found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, The High Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Brooklyn Museum, Walters Art Museum, and more. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Tyler School of Art and Architecture in Philadelphia, PA.
About The Color Network
The Color Network’s mission is to aid in the advancement of people of color in the ceramic arts. Their focus includes exhibitions, an online database, community events, and mentorship. Since 2018, The Color Network has created an international Mentorship program, curated exhibitions, held a residency at Watershed Ceramics, and provided opportunities through micro grants and an artists’ listserv. Its active Instagram page (@thecolornetwork) highlights both established and rising stars in the ceramics field, as well as resources for the community. The Color Network also holds panels, resource tables, community events, and exhibitions during the National Council for Education on the Ceramic Arts conference, as well as periodic affinity rooms and safe rooms for specific communities.
About Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy
Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy (she/her) is a New York and Los Angeles-based curator, writer, and arts administrator of contemporary art and craft. Her current research focuses on the subversive power of humor, cuteness, and leisure as tools of protest. Amplifying the voices of BIPOC artists is central to her practice. She serves as Assistant Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), NY. She has helped the curatorial team organize over twenty exhibitions since 2016, including 2021’s Craft Front & Center. She also oversees MAD’s Burke Prize, a prestigious contemporary craft award. Recent projects include exhibitions Sleight of Hand (2020) at the Center for Craft, NC, where she was a 2020 curatorial fellow, and Clay Is Just Thick Paint (2020) at Greenwich House Pottery, NY. She has also contributed to Cultured and American Craft magazines and catalogs at MAD and the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, NE. She holds an MA from the Bard Graduate Center, NY, in Decorative Arts, Design History, & Material Culture.
About Grounds For Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture is a 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late artist and philanthropist Seward Johnson. Featuring nearly 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists in a beckoning landscape, Grounds For Sculpture combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage all visitors in the artist’s act of invention. In addition to its permanent collection, Grounds For Sculpture offers rotating special exhibitions in its six indoor galleries, rich educational programs, and dynamic family events. Located in Hamilton, New Jersey, Grounds For Sculpture is easily accessible from both the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and is now open year-round. For more information, visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Media Contacts
Christina Ludgood / Catherine Coughlin
Resnicow and Associates
Account Executive / Senior Account Supervisor
212-671-5178 / 212-671-5162
cludgood@resnicow.com / ccoughlin@resnicow.com
George Chevalier
Grounds For Sculpture
Manager of Marketing
609-249-0210
gchevalier@groundsforsculpture.org
Grounds For Sculpture Announces Two-Year Commission Series with Klip Collective
Immersive Light and Sound Exhibitions Will Activate the Sculpture Park during Winter Evenings
Hamilton, NJ – August 3, 2021 – Grounds For Sculpture today announces a two-year partnership with Klip Collective to present a distinctive after-hours multisensory experience. The Night Forms series will directly interact with a selection of contemporary artworks and signature horticultural features across the park’s 42 acres, furthering the nonprofit’s commitment to creating unique experiences bringing art and nature together. On view November 26, 2021 through February 27, 2022, the first commission, titled Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective, presents more than a dozen site-specific light and sound works. The innovative and immersive experience offers a rare opportunity to visit the park both at night and during the winter.
“Grounds For Sculpture continuously surprises and delights visitors through the interaction of art and the environment, and by design is an experience that changes seasonally. Through this newly commissioned series, we are intentionally experimenting with the possibilities of a nightscape,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Klip Collective to bring their vision to life on our grounds and create a unique response to our art that delivers an entirely transformed atmosphere.”
As immersive art gains popularity across the country, Night Forms brings this progressive movement to a new environment. Illuminating the park with projection mapping and lighting to a special choreographed soundtrack, Klip Collective creates a dialogue with the sculptures in the park. Expanding the viewing plane from the earth to the sky, Night Forms merges order and chaos to create a shared experience that heightens the senses. Like the natural environment itself, the installation changes throughout the course of its run and even the course of an evening. Visitors actively participate in the multisensory presentation as they move through the park. By creating a unique experience specific to Grounds For Sculpture, Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective is a totally bespoke event that can only be seen and heard this year at the sculpture park.
Ricardo Rivera, creative director and founder of Klip Collective, is a site-specific media artist and pioneer of projection mapping. Rivera has directed several ambient light and sound experiences, including Nightscape at Longwood Gardens and Electric Desertat the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. As a Sundance Story Lab fellow and Creative Capital award recipient, Rivera applies his theater and film background in the transformation of spaces, layering architecture and filling landscapes with light and sound, resulting in immersive, sensory environments.
Tickets to Grounds For Sculpture’s Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective will go on sale to Grounds For Sculpture members on August 16, 2021 and open to the public on September 9, 2021. For more information, please visit groundsforsculpture.org.
Grounds For Sculpture thanks lead sponsor Bank of America for their generous support of Night Forms, including underwriting free admission for nonprofit community partners. Alberto Garofalo, Bank of America New Jersey Market President, said, “Bank of America is pleased to support the production of Night Forms and to offer members of the community the opportunity to attend without ticket price being a barrier. Providing equitable access to this exhibition is important to both Grounds For Sculpture and Bank of America as both organizations work to make a positive impact on our community.”
Night Forms: dreamloop by Klip Collective is supported by lead sponsor Bank of America and the following Exhibition Supporters: Bloomberg Philanthropies; Capital Health System; Geoscape; NRG; the Atlantic Foundation; the Johnson Art and Education Foundation; the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; and the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
Grounds For Sculpture Announces New Leadership Appointments, Strengthening the Sculpture Park, Arboretum, and Museum’s Commitment to the Visitor Experience and Engagement of Contemporary Artists
Kathleen Greene Named to the Newly Created Position of Chief Audience Officer as Marissa Reibstein Activates New Role of Chief Development Officer
Hamilton, NJ – July 12, 2021 – Grounds For Sculpture today announced that it has appointed Kathleen Greene to the newly created position of Chief Audience Officer (CAO) and Marissa Reibstein to Chief Development Officer (CDO), strengthening its senior leadership team as the nonprofit builds on its mission to facilitate meaningful and accessible encounters with art and nature; support the work of leading contemporary sculptors; and serve as a vital hub for diverse communities within the tri-state region and beyond. Greene begins her role with Grounds For Sculpture as CAO on July 12, 2021 and Marissa stepped into her position as CDO on March 1, 2021.
“Kathleen and Marissa bring decades of experience in innovative audience building through program creation, curatorial, and development work to Grounds For Sculpture, enhancing our ability to create impactful and equitable experiences for our visitors,” said Gary Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds For Sculpture. “As we build on the strong foundation created by our founder and approach our thirty-year anniversary in 2022, we are solidifying our standing as an independent organization with the addition of these two experienced leaders.”
As CAO—a new role designed to build audience diversity and engagement—Greene will be responsible for leading the Curatorial, Educational, and Marketing teams in the development of innovative, cross-disciplinary, and audience-centric exhibitions and programs that forge meaningful connections between visitors and living artists and creators, as well as art and horticulture. Bringing over two decades of experience in building audiences through program creation and strategic partnerships, education, and curation to the sculpture park, museum, and arboretum, Greene was most recently the Curator of Public Programs at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, where she worked across the institution to sustain partnerships and grow program audiences to reflect the diversity of the Philadelphia region. Prior to joining the Barnes in 2012, Greene held leadership positions in the programming and education departments at Fleisher Art Memorial and Mural Arts Philadelphia.
“Grounds For Sculpture is renowned for creating a dynamic and surprising experience for its visitors and for providing a critical space to reconnect with nature. Now more than ever, the winding pathways, interactive sculptures, and beautiful landscape are a beacon, gathering visitors of all ages across our diverse surrounding communities,” said newly appointed Chief Audience Officer Kathleen Greene. “Under Gary’s leadership, GFS has grown its audience by 50% and I am thrilled to partner with him to continue this trend of audience growth while expanding and deepening our reach to regional cultural producers, creatives, and organizations.”
As CDO, Reibstein is responsible for overseeing all functions of fundraising, including individual major and principal gifts, corporate and foundation giving, planned gifts, annual fund and membership programs, and special fundraising events. Prior to joining Grounds For Sculpture, Reibstein was the Director of Development, Board Engagement & Special Events for the 92nd Street Y in New York City. During her 13-year tenure, she served as a key relationship builder and fundraiser with Board members and major donors, created an innovative and prominent junior board, as well as led the overall strategy and execution of all fundraising events for this esteemed institution. Reibstein brings nearly two decades of diverse experience in the nonprofit sector to the cultural institution, including programming and development positions at the American Cancer Society and Facing History and Ourselves.
“This is an exciting and pivotal time to join Grounds For Sculpture. Coming out of the pandemic and amidst a significant transformation, our mission is ever more critical and our need for support has never been greater,” said Chief Development Officer Marissa Reibstein. “Grounds For Sculpture is an incredible place that truly elevates humanity, through the connections we make with art, nature, one another, and ultimately with ourselves. I am thrilled and honored to be part of this community and look forward to scaling our development efforts so that the park is accessible to all, for generations to come.”
Grounds For Sculpture Photography Exhibit at Capital Health System, Hopewell
One month remains to see botanical samples and photography from the park
Hamilton, NJ (August 26, 2021) – The Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) exhibition entitled Along the Way, composed of plant specimens and photographs from the park, installed at Capital Health Hopewell in the Investors Bank Art and Healing Gallery, closes soon. Curated by a cross department team at GFS, the exhibition showcases the park through the seasons and encourages visitors to slow down and benefit from the work on display. The goal of the project is to uplift and bring joy to hospital visitors and employees by mirroring the wellness benefits of visiting GFS, through images and actual plant clippings. The exhibition ends on September 18th.
Pressed plants were carefully chosen by GFS Horticulturist, Janis Napoli. Prompts featured help viewers connect with various sculptures located at GFS through the photographs. Julio Enrique Badel, Manager of Experiential Programs, explained “Our goal was to convey the experience of GFS by showing what makes visiting the grounds unique and engaging. We selected and grouped photos related to large scale sculpture, people interacting with artwork, the passing of the seasons, and horticulture-focused landscapes contrasted with close-up images. Questions posed to the viewer encourage closer looking and reflection, probing at deeper meanings behind the images. GFS encourages an open-ended form of discovery and curiosity when exploring art and nature.”
The physical space where the gallery sits benefits from natural light which further enhances the calming atmosphere. “During the installation, Capital Health employees approached us to share personal stories of gatherings at GFS. Seeing the images also reminded them how close and accessible this hidden gem is to them,” said Tracy Lee, GFS Assistant Preparator.
The intersection of art and nature is at the core of the GFS mission and reflects how the role of museums is evolving to play a significant part in the wellbeing of the community. The arts resonate deeply with the human experience and are saturated with the potential to promote healing and wellness, not only in hospitals and other healthcare facilities but also within the fabric of our communities. GFS has seen considerable demand from guests for programming that connects wellbeing with art and nature since the park began to offer wellness-focused programs nearly 10 years ago.
The importance of healing and art has always been considered important within the Capital Health system. From the initial planning of the facility and throughout the construction, art was intentionally incorporated into the design of the Hopewell hospital. At the time, art consultant, Lin Swenson, advised and led a plan for the design and acquisition of the thoughtful integration of art in a variety of forms using mainly community artists. Art has been created and installed thoughtfully under the advisement of a community arts committee, including staff from the Seward Johnson Atelier. In addition, elements of the former Mercer Hospital in Trenton including architectural elements, photographs, and equipment were also incorporated into five historical artistic design presentations. Artists including Judith Brodsky, Michael Graves, and Thom Montanari created beautiful pieces within the facility. More than 20 community artists participated in a collaborative project that created more than 400 pieces for patient rooms. Art is often incorporated into care plans at Capital Health.
“Our art gallery at Capital Health allows us to help heal our patients, families, and communities outside of just their physical and mental health, it provides support for emotional wellbeing. The space allows anyone from patients to staff members to take a moment to themselves. It allows for a few moments of peace and tranquility,” shared Lyndsie Moran, System Manager, Patient Experience at Capital Health. “During the global pandemic, art and nature have become even more important as beacons of restoration and healing.” said Gina Petrone Mumolie, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, Sr. VP of Hospital Administration. “This wonderful art show beckons viewers to enjoy the beauty at Grounds For Sculpture,” she added. “The uniquely displayed dried floral arrangements and photography of people enjoying the vibrancy of GFS encourage relaxation for those at the hospital and also urges viewers to visit GFS for more.”
INSTITUTIONAL BACKGROUND
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) is a not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum in New Jersey. To facilitate meaningful encounters with art and nature, the vibrant 42-acre campus features nearly 300 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists set in a dynamic landscape hosting hundreds of plant species. Six indoor galleries present diverse, rotating special exhibitions, which are complemented by robust educational programming for all ages and abilities. Founded by artist and philanthropist Seward Johnson in 1992, Grounds For Sculpture has become a premier cultural destination, enchanting more than 270,000 visitors per year.
