Fees:
Adults (14 - 64): $12.00
Seniors (65 and older): $9.00
Students (w/ student ID): $9.00
Children (5 - 13): $6.00
Children (3 - 4): $4.00
Children (2 and younger): Free
*Group rates are available (minimum of 20 people)
Mission Statement:
To promote the enjoyment, understanding, and appreciation of gardens, sculpture, the
natural environment, and the arts.
Sculpture Park:
The Sculpture Park features significant works of art within a variety of natural settings connected by waterways, meandering paths and quiet walkways. The work of over 30 renowned sculptors such as Auguste Rodin, Aristide Maillol, Jacques Lipchitz, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Mark di Suvero, Magdalena Abakanowicz, George Rickey, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Juan Munoz, Hanneke Beaumont, Louise Bourgeois and Mimmo Paladino are featured. Within the Sculpture Park’s 30+ acres is the most comprehensive collection of outdoor sculpture within the Midwest. This open-air museum was originally dedicated in 2002 with 25 pieces, but the space allows for a total of approximately 80 sculptures Frederik Meijer Gardens Sculpture Parkto eventually be added over time. There is a special element of discovery that permeates the park-you can view the sculpture in and through meadows and trees, valleys and hills from many different vantage points. The Sculpture Park includes a family friendly accessible fine arts experience and adults and families can experience through a variety of tour options: guided tram tours, adult guided walking tours (special dates and times) and self-guided audio tours.
Calendar
Calder’s “A Two-Face Guy” on long-term loan from the Calder Foundation
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, one of world’s most comprehensive sculpture and botanic experiences, today announces it has received Alexander Calder’s A Two-Faced Guy on long-term loan from the Calder Foundation in New York. It is the second major piece of Calder’s artwork loaned to Meijer Gardens in recent years.
“We are extremely grateful to receive this generous loan from the Calder Foundation,” said David Hooker, president and CEO of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. “It was a result of our close relationship with the Calder Foundation and the great success of our recent exhibition of Calder’s work.”
A Two-Faced Guy was displayed in the summer 2009 exhibition “Alexander Calder: 1960 - The Fortieth Anniversary of La Grande Vitesse.” It is currently being installed in one of the most high-profile areas of the Sculpture Park. Located directly across from the scenic waterfall, the sculpture can be seen by tram riders as well as those walking the path.
This is the second long-term loan of Calder’s work in recent years. The first was Two Discs, which came to Meijer Gardens from the Smithsonian Institution’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. It was installed in October 2007. Meijer Gardens was also chosen to temporarily showcase Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker on loan from the Detroit Institute of Arts in the summer of 2007.
“Receiving A Two-Faced Guy is an honor and speaks of the quality of our collection,” said Joseph Becherer, chief curator and vice president. “We will proudly showcase it as a symbol of our dedication to public art in Grand Rapids and the legacy of Alexander Calder.”
Alexander Calder has a strong connection with the city of Grand Rapids. His colossal stabile La Grande Vitesse was the first publicly funded work of art by the National Endowment of the Arts.
- About Alexander Calder
-
- Alexander Calder (1898 – 1976) was born in Lawnton, Pennsylvania, the son and grandson of sculptors. Calder received a degree in mechanical engineering before deciding to become an artist. In 1931, he made his first “mobiles,” or kinetic sculptures. By the mid-1930s, his work became more biomorphic reflecting the organic Surrealism movement. From the mid 1950s forward, Calder focused on monumental sculptures that defined architectural spaces. He eventually found a steel fabricator in France who could create stabiles large enough to walk under. Although based in abstraction, Calder’s objects incorporate references to the natural world, interacting directly with their environments as the breeze moves them and light introduces shadowy images. By the 1960s, he was recognized internationally as among the most profound artists of his generation.
