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As I passed through the winding streets of the village of Ossining in the late-afternoon summer heat, I watched the shadows dance across multiple landmark properties – the public library, Trinity Church, and the massive, castle-like high school at the center of town. My eyes lingered on the intricacies of the town’s historical architecture while I searched for the sprawling mile-and-a-half long sculpture garden that I had come to see—a staple of Ossining in 3D, the village’s new, monumental art exhibit.
Near the center of town stands Ossining’s municipal building, which is where I met Ossining’s Mayor, William Hanauer, and Village Manager Richard Leins. In an upstairs room they excitedly explained to me that the two-hundredth anniversary of the village inspired the idea of constructing a sculpture garden. The sculpture garden not only commemorates Ossining’s anniversary as an officially recognized village, but also the historical architecture of the town.
At the close of our meeting, they escorted me downstairs where five of the artists, whose work is featured in the sculpture garden, stood chatting in a circle. We exited the building, artists and all, to explore the town and view the twenty-five sculptures (all for sale!), which are integrated amongst the buildings across the town. I walked down the narrow sidewalks feeling like I was on an Easter egg hunt, trying to find the sculptures before they were pointed out to me.
The sculptures were not how I had imagined them; you know, grey concrete with severe lines and historical themes. They were refreshingly colorful, bold, and unique – one even had blue sequins on it! I found the sculptures intriguingly obscure, which left me with questions for the artists and curators. The tour concluded down by the waterfront where a large, geometric, fire-engine-red sculpture stood. The sculpture looked reckless in the midst of the calm Hudson River and quiet town – I had to know what it meant. Its creator, artist Eric Stein, was fortunately there to clarify, “Its about the energy that comes from the earth. And also from creativity, interaction with people and being positive verses being negative. It’s all about positivity.” The collaboration between the artists, council members, and property owners that enabled this artistic feat embodies the ideals expressed by Mr. Stein’s sculpture. Creativity and collaborative interaction can create something as whimsical and diverse as a village-wide sculpture garden – that’s something positive, isn’t it?
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- “This is one of about eighty different shapes of “Copenhagen Ships Curves,” much enlarged. The idea of the Copenhagen Memory is this antiquated technology and tradition of ship making that is gone. There it is, the curve has been punched out of the sculpture. Its there but it isn’t there.” – William Jackson
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- The sculpture’s base echoes Ossining’s landmark aqueduct bridge, while the figure of a nesting eagle perches on top, watching over the Hudson River.
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- Nails are very important tools in terms of structure and stability, my work, and this piece in particular. In this event when we take a step back we no longer see each individual nail, but one tree that encompasses thousands of smaller pieces, which have their own bonds and relationships and ultimately play a much larger role maintaining stability and structure through their collective strength.
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- Untitled (red assembly) is the culmination of exploring the transformation of a flat plane into a curved surface. The red panels, identical in shape and size, are arranged in two configurations, resulting in an undulating pattern of concave and convex forms.
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- As an artist, I love being inside of my pieces as I make them, which inspires me to create works people can walk around inside of. In this piece I explore the energy of a fluid line. Giving into whimsy, I gave my line a head, allowing it to become a sea serpent undulating through a sea of grass.
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- Stamen is an Ode to Nature. Radiating strength and stability, I use natural and eternal presentation that stone affects to carve abstract forms that reflect our common humanity.
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- My artistic mode of expression is steel sculpture – the strength and durability of the material verses its surprising liquidity and malleability fascinates me. I want my art to speak for itself from my feelings to the viewer’s emotions.
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- Radiating strength and stability, I use the natural and eternal presentation that stone affects to carve abstract forms that reflect our common humanity.
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- Signage, sculpture (Smith, Di Suvero, Rauschenberg, and antique transportation technology influence my forms and shapes, which support a surface finish inspired by my exploration of automotive painting techniques.
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- The open quality of the sculpture allows views through, thus including the surroundings and making them part of the sculpture. By leaving the “ends” open, I invite the viewer to visually or physically enter the sculpture and have a different experience from that of the outside.
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- I wish to be considered a good journeyman ironworker who demonstrates a high degree of craftsmanship while using only the best materials to create enduring sculptures that speak to the highest aspirations of the human spirit.
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- My work explored the interdependence of environmental form and architectonic structure. I am particularly interested in the physical and symbolic transformation of natural materials into built forms and abstract stages of growth and decay.
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- Homenaje a Carlos Zook is dedicated to my quadriplegic friend who spends his days in a wheelchair. Accessability is a universal issue, and, literally, through this piece I offer the viewer the opportunity to experience some of the barriers, and breakthroughs, that people in wheelchairs face on a daily basis. The hinged doors “open” in opposite directions, inviting yet confounding the viewer, and making the wheelchair-accessible ramp an open relief.
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- I see the human body as a shape in space. It is an infinite source of changing organic forms. The abstract quality of these forms has great power and with their body language reveals the inner person.
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- Blue Moon is a whimsical poetic object, which combines industrial materials to make an image dreamed in nature… making something usually considered masculine into something feminine.
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- My sculpture is titled Dancing Milkweed III, fabricated out of steel. It is a poetic narrative depicting the scattering or diaspora of seed forms in nature. It is about timing, releasing, holding on and letting go.
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- How does an artist think like a scientist? Both artist and scientist are motivated primarily by the desire to create or discover something new. The artist seeks to bring to life visions of color and space, visions previously unseen.
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- My work is spontaneous and intuitive. My aim is to communicate with the viewer primarily on a subconscious level.
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- In particular, I love working with metals. It’s a challenge to transform them into beautiful, three-dimensional and even moving object that evoke emotions or simply make you feel their energy.
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- In exploring different forms, utilizing different materials, my goal is to create visually compelling objects – something you would want to view more than once.
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- My work is about and derived from energy, an expected or present explosion or an interpretation of an idea or historic event. “Its about the energy that comes from the earth. And also from creativity, interaction with people and being positive verses being negative. It’s all about positivity.”
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- My work is without any message that could be verbalized, but is always about mysteries that I can’t resolve.
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- I am intrigued by shape and form, mass and volume. The backbone of the Earth, the bedrock and its erosion into cliffs and canyons by water has been a major influence in my work. My sculpture is tangible and touchable, but it can also reflect an emotional experience.
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- This piece pays homage to the Double Arch, part of the Old Croton Aqueduct that is a landmark of Ossining. The shape of the top arch is referenced by the horizontal bamboo lines, which hint at the aqueduct’s brickwork while the lower arch reverses this process with the void defined by the vertical lines.
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- Artifacts II is one of a series of sculptures. Some of the components in this piece are from my inventory of artifacts gathered from an industrial archaeological dig. The final piece is an assemblage of fabricated forms juxtaposed with these earthly artifacts.