(LEONIA, NJ) -- Throughout the year, Sculpture for Leonia delighted the public with new thought-provoking and whimsical outdoor art installations. Highlights included two pieces by renowned artist William King and a large installation of individual works by seven artists.
A recent gift, Man and Woman by William King are important additions to the organization’s collection. These large minimalist figures, made of painted aluminum and believed to date from the 1970s, now stand together in front of the Leonia Library on Fort Lee Road. William King’s work can be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum of American Art, which makes King one of the most celebrated artists in Sculpture for Leonia’s displays.
Artistic interest on Broad Avenue was enlivened through the installation of two new works, Zig and Sentinel XX1 (shown at the top of this article). Michael Poast, who works in steel, was inspired to create Zig by famous sculptor Constantin Brancusi’s Endless Column. Zig uses a zig zag pattern and linear forms painted in blue, red, and green to create a dynamic and endless feeling. Sentinel XX1 by Herrat Sommerhoff is a brightly colored piece composed of upcycled styrofoam of various shapes, coated in stucco in painted in primary and secondary colors.
In June, the group participated in Creative Bergen’s Arts Amble, a countywide art crawl. For this event, Sculpture for Leonia hosted an artists’ reception presenting seven new sculptures that had just been installed in Station Parkway and the artists who made them. These artists, who exhibit as a group called 14 Sculptors, Inc. are from the New York area and sponsored by NYFA.
With the theme entitled Chasing Nature, the pieces in the exhibition are:
• City Tree by Dan Bergman, of wood and welded steel chain, is a simulated telephone pole surrounded by wires
• The Tall Flower by Allan Cyprys, of stained wood, is a brightly colored geometric flower inspired structure
• Links to Nature by Esther A. Grillo, of relics, wood, welded steel, oil paint, tamper resistant nuts and bolts, suggests imagery of animal movements in nature
• Like a Flash of Lightning in a Summer Cloud by Siena Gillann Porta, of plexiglas, stainless steel, HDPE base, casts shadows from cutout flower shapes
• Inside Out by Niki Ketchman, of steel angle iron, steel mesh, steel leaves and ferns, aluminum wire, aluminum screen, is a two-sided screen with leaves that challenges which side is inside and which outside
• Portal by Carl Rattner, of pine and finished with marine varnish, represents a gate reclaimed by nature
• Hibiscus by Chuck von Schmidt, of aluminum, are enormous versions of the flower Zig by Michael Poast Sentinel XX1 by Herrat Sommerhof
Sculpture for Leonia is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization established in 2006 with the purpose of enhancing the historically rich art and cultural environment in Leonia through the display of outdoor sculpture. The exhibition is centered in The Erika & David Boyd Sculpture Garden, located at Broad Avenue and Beechwood Place in Leonia, New Jersey, with other locations throughout the town and showcases more than 50 sculptures by artists who provide their pieces on loan for the enrichment of the community.
TOP IMAGE: (Left) Zig by Michael Poast (Right) Sentinel XX1 by Herrat Sommerhof
