GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A 26-foot bronze sculpture by Chicago artist Nick Cave, depicting a body adorned with flowers, birds and foliage topped by a thick tangle of branches, will be unveiled at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park on Oct. 3.
The sculpture, Amalgam (Origin), will be installed near The Richard & Helen DeVos Japanese Garden and Michigan’s Farm Garden. It was modeled after Cave’s own body and aims to emphasize the “growth, transformation, and the interconnectedness of humanity and nature,” according to a release.
Cave said in a statement that he’s “thrilled” to see the sculpture find a permanent home at the Grand Rapids Township gardens and sculpture park.
“It was developed specifically to be placed outdoors, and I can’t imagine a better home than at Meijer Gardens,” he said. “Having done my graduate studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art (in metro Detroit), I also love the full-circle moment of my first major outdoor sculpture being in Michigan. I hope to see real birds nesting in the bronze branches when we visit next spring.”
Cave’s work blends fashion, craft and performance art.
One of his creative endeavors, Soundsuits, features a series of sculptures fashioned from fabric and wearable materials. The series, which has grown to more than 500 pieces, was inspired by the beating of a Black man, Rodney King, by Los Angeles police in 1991, according to a release.
The series was conceived as a “protective armor, concealing the wearer’s race, gender and class to challenge viewers to look beyond surface judgments.”
Suzanne Ramljak, vice president of collections & curatorial affairs at Meijer Gardens, said Amalgam (Origin) marks a return to Cave’s “artistic origins.”
“The sculpture’s branching crown and wooded site harken back to his very first Soundsuit, made of discarded twigs, while recalling the primal sustenance of nature itself,” she said.
The sculpture comes to Meijer Gardens from the Jack Shainman Gallery in Tribeca in New York City. Its purchase was made possible through the late Fred and Lena Meijer and the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Foundation.
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