A garden is a space of any size within which one can arrange things. Traditionally, a garden is a place for flowering plants or vegetables. In German, the genre also includes children (Kindergarten) or animals (Tiergarten). The underlying principle of a garden nevertheless appears to demand that it host some manner of living thing.
Perhaps, this is why New Jersey’s Sculpture Garden in Hamilton is officially known as Grounds for Sculpture. Only in America is there still sufficient space to put aside acreage dedicated solely to giving modern sculpture a platform and affording people of all backgrounds the opportunity to experience accidental encounters with contemporary art.
Since opening its gates to the general public in 1992, GFS has built a collection in excess of 240 works, including sculptures by renowned artists Clement Meadmore, Anthony Caro, Beverly Pepper, Kiki Smith, and New Jersey sculptor George Segal. Some of the works in the collection were commissioned specifically for the sculpture park, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Space of Stone and New Jersey artist Isaac Witkin’s Garden State. Work on the park and sculpture acquisitions are financed by public tax-exempt bonds and private foundations associated with founder J. Seward Johnson.
The enthusiasm for modern sculpture seems to have spilled out well beyond the park’s accredited boundaries. Even before one enters through its gates, one sees numerous works by the side of the road and on the spacious grassy lots of corporations that comprise an adjoining industrial park. In fact, the brand new Hamilton Railway Station (only 5 minutes away by taxi) and the parking lot surrounding it contains so many mammoth installations, it almost gives the impression that the garden down the road can be no more than an afterthought.
I found the Grounds for Sculpture to be a fascinating piece of real estate. It is exquisitely landscaped with peacocks patrolling the perimeter. The sculptures are as varied as life itself. There are regal stone abstracts reaching to heaven; metal hard-wrought into tortured flights of fancy; well known classical paintings reproduced in three dimensions.
Unfortunately, I neglected to note the names of many of the artists whose works I was admiring. It would have necessitated the additional step of carrying a pad and pencil. The entire experience was so delightfully disarming; I saw no reason to dilute it with ponderous curatorial concerns. This just goes to show that there can be no possible excuse for not visiting this monument to human artistic inspiration. Even if you claim to know nothing of modern art; even if a previous visit to the stifling confines of some dusty museum has left you cold, Grounds for Sculpture cannot fail to uplift and guarantee a splendid time for all ages.
For directions and additional information about New Jersey’s Sculpture Garden including special events, tours, dining at its three restaurants, and shopping at its galleries, consult GFS’s website: http://www.groundsforsculpture.org/index.html.
Peter Koelliker pkoelliker8@yahoo.com
Awesome . . .
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