Grounds for Sculpture Lights Up in Winter

(Published on Jan 10, 2013) Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ (40 minutes from Philadelphia) is home to two-hundred-and-seventy sculptures spread out across forty-two acres of parkland. With the recent opening of a new performance space called the East Gallery, the sculpture park offers a variety of performance events throughout the winter months. "The East Gallery is a fantastic acoustical venue, besides being gorgeous to look at," says Sandra Pucciatti, co-founder of Boheme Opera NJ. The Trenton-based opera troupe featured 7 singers in a variety program attended by 200 listeners. A whimsical nature-inspired installation called Canutopia, by artist Ming Fay, populates the gallery's walls and ceiling with seeds, branches and leaves, bringing sculpture indoors. Grounds for Sculpture's founder, Seward Johnson (grandson of Johnson & Johnson founder Robert Wood Johnson) wanted to make a place for contemporary sculpture that would engage the general public. Throughout the park, visitors encounter his life-size bronze figures that pay homage to paintings by Monet, Renoir, and Manet, in addition to towering abstract works by Isaac Witkin and Strong-Cuevas. Through April, the Museum Building houses Robert Taplin's series of giant fiberglass figures suspended in mid-air entitled The Five Outer Planets. Taplin himself will offer a guest lecture at Grounds on Saturday, January 12 at 1pm.