HAMILTON, N.J.–Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) opens its Spring/Summer Exhibition Season on May 12, 2015 with five new exhibitions featuring work by Jae Ko, Karl Stirner, Jonas Stirner, Lauren Clay and Robert Lobe. The exhibitions collectively features over 75 works, many shown for the first time. The works also span several generations and diverse mediums.
The artists exhibiting share an intuitive vision of the world. Whether reinterpreting natural formations through fluid and yielding materials or imitating nature through carefully manipulated geometric planes, the works are transformed through distinct sculptural approaches and brought to life as powerful personal and poetic statements, according to GFS.
JAE KO: SELECTIONS
In the East Gallery and on the first floor on the Domestic Arts Building, GFS presents "Jae Ko: Selections," featuring Force of Nature,白 Shiro, the artist’s largest and most ambitious piece to date. The Washington, DC-based artist drew her inspiration from topographic and geologic forms to create a monumental, layered, paper relief sculpture that spans over 80 linear feet transforming the East Gallery.
Additional works by Ko, all hand-rolled and color-stained by the artist, and a documentary video of the Force of Nature, 白 Shiro installation, can be seen in the first floor of the Domestic Arts building. Force of Nature, 白 Shiro will be open to the public through February 7, 2016.
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Artist Jae Ko and detail from "Selections, Force of Nature, 白 Shiro," 2015, recycled Kraft paper, dimensions variable, Courtesy of the Artist.
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KARL STIRNER: DECADES IN STEEL
The Museum Building will host powerful steel sculptures of Pennsylvania-based sculptor Karl Stirner. "Karl Stirner: Decades in Steel" explores the artist’s masterfully welded and manipulated industrial forms which are often inspired by the huge sections of steel Stirner reclaims from steel manufacturing yards. Stirner is a master of technique and construction, playing with space, surface texture and geometry to create tension or harmony seemingly at his whim. Still actively working at 92 years old, Stirner’s work in steel, as well as his support for the local arts community, has had a profound influence on generations of artists.
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"Untitled" by Karl Stirner, 1957. Steel, 28 x 13 x 14.5 inches. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Ken Ek.
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On the mezzanine of the Museum Building, exhibiting his works with his father Karl Stirner for the first time, Jonas Stirner follows the creative tradition of welding and manipulating found steel into powerful yet whimsical and thought-provoking sculptures. Based in Florida since the mid-1990s, Jonas has exhibited his work throughout the state and has presented an impressive output of recent sculptures including sculptural reliefs for his exhibition at GFS. Early in his career, Stirner had the unique opportunity to work closely with Robert Rauschenberg as one of the artist’s assistants for 15 years at the renowned artist’s Captiva Island studio.
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Jonas Stirner, "Grounded," 2014, steel, 60 x 25 x 18 inches; "Auger," 2006, steel, 67 x 26 x 20 inches; "Clarity," 2014, steel, 67 x 33 x 18 inches, Courtesy of the Artist.
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ROBERT LOBE: IN THE FOREST DRAWN OF METAL
In the West Gallery, the work of New Jersey/New York-based artist Robert Lobe is featured. Working primarily in the rural woodlands of Sussex County, NJ, Lobe’s richly textured aluminum reliefs are made by hammering sheets of aluminum over natural forms in a technique adopted from the tradition of repoussé, which in French means “to push up.” In Lobe’s work however, rather than working from the inside out, he works from the outer surface, capturing the essence of rocks and trees with pneumatic hammers and hand-made tools.
The exhibition also features a selection of masterful collaborative works that incorporate the noted paintings of New York-based painter Kathleen Gilje. "Robert Lobe: In the Forest Drawn of Metal" featuring Forest Projects, Collaborative Works with Kathleen Gilje, is on view from April 11, 2015 – January 17, 2016.
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"Woodbury Quarry" by Robert Lobe and Kathleen Gilje, 2011. Hammered aluminum, 98 x96 x24.5 inches, Courtesy of the Artists.
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LAUREN CLAY: DRISHTI
On the mezzanine of the Domestic Arts Building, is an installation by Brooklyn artist, Lauren Clay. Clay, who works primarily with paper, exhibits a new body of work consisting of large papier-mache sculptures along with mural-sized prints of her vibrantly colored hand-marbled paper. These works are heavily influenced by the artist’s interest in eastern philosophies, yoga, and meditative practice.
The exhibition title, "Drishti", refers to the direction of one’s gaze during meditation. Also included among the works on view is a series of hand-painted paper sculptures which reference the American sculptor David Smith.
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"Old enough to repaint but young enough to sell (Cubi XVIII)" by Lauren Clay, 2011. Paper, acrylic, wooden armature, 18 5/8 x 11 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches, Courtesy of the Artist.
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GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE
Grounds For Sculpture (GFS), located in Hamilton, New Jersey (midway between Philadelphia and New York), is a 42 acre not-for-profit sculpture park and arboretum founded by Seward Johnson. Its collection features more than 270 contemporary sculptures by renowned and emerging artists. Exhibitions change seasonally in six indoor galleries.
Artists with a Hamptons connection exhibiting work on their grounds include Hans Van de Bovenkamp, Elizabeth Strong-Cuevas, Joel Perlman and William King (1925 - 2015).
The grounds include work by Kiki Smith, George Segal, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Bill Barrett, Carole Feuerman, Marisol Escobar, Robert Ressler, Linda Ogden, Peter Reginato, Richard Heinrich, Sarah Haviland, Peter Voulkos (1924-2002), Mike Gyampo, John Henry, Yuyu Yang (1926-1997), Philip Grausman and others.
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BASIC FACTS: Grounds for Sculpture is located at 80 Sculptures Way, Hamilton Township, NJ 08619. For hours, admission, and a calendar of events, visit www.groundsforsculpture.org. Open year-round.
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