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HAMILTON: Marilyn sculpture arrives in Hamilton

The 26-foot-tall stainless steel and aluminum sculpture will be one of 287 works by Seward Johnson to be featured at a retrospective exhibit.

by James McEvoy, Managing Editor
HAMILTON — Tuesday afternoon the six-day, cross-country journey of Seward Johnson’s “Forever Marilyn” sculpture arrived at Grounds for Sculpture.
   The 26-foot-tall stainless steel and aluminum sculpture, which depicts Marilyn Monroe in the 1955 film “The Seven Year Itch,” will be one of 287 works, including 91 painted trays, by Mr. Johnson that will be featured at a retrospective exhibit.
   Mr. Johnson founded Grounds for Sculpture in 1992.
   The exhibit will open on May 4 and extend through Sept. 21, according to a Grounds for Sculpture press release.
   Mr. Johnson’s works will be sited in three indoor galleries as well as across the 42-acre park campus.
   Mr. Johnson, 83, is an American sculptor and philanthropist who has dedicated his career to public art. His life-like bronze and monumental figures are familiar sights throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, according to the release.
   The exhibit will span five decades of Mr. Johnson’s exploration into what he refers to as “The Visceral Moment,” per the release. He describes the visceral moment as the pivotal moment when viewers engage with a piece of artwork and transcend their own place in space and time to experience a heightened connection to their common humanity.
   Also on view during the exhibit are works from his “Beyond the Frame series,” which is an homage to the impressionist painters such as Claude Monet’s Garden at Sainte-Addresse and Edouard Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe.
   A third series, “Icons Revisited,” includes works inspired by familiar and time-tested images, including the famous Times Square V-Day moment when a sailor kissed a nurse. This iconic sculpture, enlarged to 25 feet, has been invited to Times Square, San Diego, Sarasota and Rome, Italy.
   Throughout the duration of “Seward Johnson: The Retrospective,” exhibit, Grounds For Sculpture will offer hands-on art-making workshops inspired by the humor and humanistic insight of this prolific artist, tours of the park and artwork, screenings of archival footage, an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour with Johnson himself and more, according to a press release,
   To view a complete calendar of upcoming events, visit www.groundsforsculpture.org.