Sculpture Park in the Hudson Valley

By Janet Dodrill

A closer look at this bench enjoyed by visitors revealed it was made of Kennedy half dollars.

Young adults couldn't resist climbing the whimsical parts of Mark di Suvero's Beethoven’s Quartet, 2003.

I recently had the pleasure of walking the grounds at Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, NY. It is a widely recognized 500 acre sculpture park in the Hudson Valley, founded in 1960.

Some of the sculptures I especially enjoyed included Mirror Fence, 2003, a work by Alyson Shotz, and the signature large-scale orange painted steel sculpture Jambalaya, 2002-2006 by Mark di Suvero.

Also impressive was Menashe Kadishman, Suspended, 1977.

The park has ongoing scheduled exhibitions in an indoor museum and new works are installed on the grounds. It is open April though mid-November.

Alyson Shotz, Mirror Fence, 2003.

Monumental Experience

By Janet Dodrill

Ernest Trova, Gox No. 3, 1974. at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Photo: © Janet Dodrill

When I lived and studied at college in St. Louis, I experienced a wonderful estate with a large variety of outdoor sculptures called Laumeier Sculpture Park. One of my favorite sculptures there is Alexander Liberman’s, The Way, 1972-80. If you are ever in St. Louis, pay it a visit and walk the property for a profound experience, of seeing both temporary and permanent sculptures, some of huge scale. You will walk through woods and over hilltops on walking trails to discover all the pieces. When I was last there, I saw many bluebirds in the wooded areas. There is also an indoor gallery.

In an upcoming trip to upstate New York, I am looking forward to visiting the Storm King Art Center, which, similarly, is a rolling landscape of large outdoor sculptures against the Hudson Valley highlands skyline. Their web site describes it as “a museum that celebrates the relationship between sculpture and nature” and “the exhibition space is defined by sky and land.” I am looking forward to also appreciating this creative wonder.