“The Nature of Obsession” PHOTO BY PAULA STOEKE Grounds For Sculpture will open the largest and most significant exhibition in its history on May 4: a presentation of work by its founder, Seward Johnson.
“Seward Johnson: The Retrospective” will feature more than 150 sculptures through Sept. 21, including his much-acclaimed “Forever Marilyn,” “The Awakening” and “Unconditional Surrender.”
Works will be sited in three indoor galleries and across the 42-acre park campus.
Johnson, 83, is an American sculptor and philanthropist who has dedicated his career to public art. His lifelike bronze and monumental figures are familiar sights throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He is also the founder of the not-for-profit Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, which opened its doors to the public in 1992.
The exhibit will span five decades of Johnson’s exploration into what he refers to as “the visceral moment,” 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.
“Forever Marilyn” PHOTO BY KATE TURNING Also on view are works from his “Beyond the Frame” series. An homage to the Impressionist painters, “Beyond the Frame” works transform well-known paintings such as Claude Monet’s “Garden at Sainte-Adresse” and Edouard Manet’s “Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe” into life-sized, three-dimensional tableaux. A third series, “Icons Revisited,” includes works inspired by familiar and time-tested images. Seward’s “Unconditional Surrender” captures the iconic Times Square V-Day embrace enlarged to 25 feet. “Forever Marilyn” is a 26- foot-tall, stainless steel and aluminum Marilyn Monroe figure, complete with white, billowing skirt.
Throughout the exhibit, Grounds For Sculpture will offer hands-on, art-making workshops inspired by the humor and humanistic insight of this artist; tours of the park and artwork; screenings of archival footage; and an exclusive, behind the-scenes tour with Johnson himself.
For GPS driving directions, use 126 Sculptors Way, Hamilton.
Hours through Labor Day are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and closed Mondays, except Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors age 65 and older, $8 for children ages 6-17, and free for members and children age 5 and under.
For more information and a calendar of events, call 609-586-0616 or visit www.groundsforsculpture.org.