It always amazes us how many people - including tons of New Jersey residents - haven't heard of Grounds for Sculpture, a little gem nestled between Manhattan and Philadelphia.
J. Seward Johnson likes to quote fellow artist Pablo Picasso in describing Grounds for Sculpture, the wonderland he created on 12 then-treeless acres of land in the shadow of the Hamilton train station.
The park, he wrote, is a place "meant to wash away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Art and nature lovers come not only to escape the dust of everyday life, but also to be delighted by the whimsy and amazed at the creativity of the sculptors, whose works are now spread over 42 beautifully landscaped acres.
It's been a quarter of a century since Johnson beheld the one-time site of the New Jersey State Fair adjacent to his studio and dreamed of a place where contemporary sculpture could thrive in an outdoors setting.
Landscape engages visitors at N.J. Grounds For Sculpture
Work on the park began in 1989, financed by public tax-exempt bonds and private foundations associated with Johnson. It welcomed its first visitor in 1992.
Since 2000, GFS has been classified a public, not-for-profit corporation, relying on the support of visitors, grants and donations by art patrons and other fans.
Recently, Grounds For Sculpture from the National Endowment for the Arts to support, in part, the exhibition, "Joyce J. Scott: Harriet Tubman and Other Truths."
You can't turn a corner on a wooded path without stumbling across a fanciful piece: three gargantuan witches besides a steaming cauldron from Shakespeare's Macbeth, perhaps, or a Renoir-inspired couple strolling with unfurled umbrella and cane.
It's an ever-changing landscape and art-scape, with some 270 items exhibited on a rotating basis amid koi ponds, bamboo groves and fields of wildflowers.
Seward Johnson's own life-sized renditions of famous art scenes are scattered throughout the park, most notably Manet's "Luncheon in the Grass," detailed down to the last tassel on one of the bather's caps.
It's a fantasy-land with a serious purpose: to introduce artists - both established and emerging, local and international - to a growing audience.
To that end, Grounds for Sculpture sponsors workshops for adults and children, including this season's sessions on sculpting the human form, botanical illustration (in partnership with the Arts Council of Princeton) and kiln-casting with the artist Daniel Clayman.
Through Aug. 19, the park will present a Year of Art with ARC Mercer, celebrating the creativity of artists with special needs.
A range of accessible facilities and programs, including free cart tours as well as scooters and wheelchairs, are available. The facility also offers assisted-listening devices and touch tours for those with visual impairments.
It always amazes us how many people - including tons of New Jersey residents - haven't heard of this little gem nestled between Manhattan and Philadelphia.
We envy those as-yet-unenlightened individuals their first visit - the wonder, the enchantment. And we guarantee: You'll be back.
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