Grounds For Sculpture Presents SLOW MOTION-A Fascinating New Exhibition

Broadwayworld had the pleasure of visiting Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton for a press preview of their extraordinary new exhibition, “Slow Motion,” guest curated by the Monument Lab. Founded in 2012, Monument Lab is a nonprofit public art and history studio based in Philadelphia, which cultivates and facilitates critical conversations around the past, present, and future of monuments. Guests of Grounds for Sculpture can view Slow Motion now through September 1, 2025.

At the preview, members of the press were graciously greeted by Garrido Schneider, Executive Director of Grounds for Sculpture.  He has stated, “Collaborating with a guest curator and project partner such as Monument Lab infuses new perspectives and supports innovative approaches to curating, while presenting new voices and ideas.”

Five artists were selected to participate and respond to the exhibition’s central question, “How do we remake our relationship with monuments?” These ultra-talented artists that are featured include Billy Dufala, Ana Teresa Fernández, Colette Fu, Omar Tate, and Sandy Williams IV.  We had the pleasure of hearing all five artists speak about their motivation and their artwork. They proved to be an impressive collective.

Each artist’s work emphasizes how materials are not just a medium for monumental work. In fact, the materials bring meaning that function as symbols of specific places, memories, scents, and feelings.   The artists’ contemporary sculptures cleverly use unconventional materials and processes.  The results are not only stunning, but very thought provoking.

Patricia Eunji Kim, Monument Lab Curator for Slow Motion commented about the artists that she has worked with so closely. “Their boundary-pushing artworks for this exhibition inspire visitors to re-orient themselves in how they relate to monuments, to collective memories, and ultimately, to each other.”

Get to know the artists presenting their works in Slow Motion!

-Ana Teresa Fernández is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Mexico, now based in San Francisco, exhibits her work SHHH. This 7-foot-high series of letters is covered in 1,800 suspended golden acrylic mirrors which both react to and reflect back their surrounding environment. SHHH is a monument to the silence of cultures and habitats as sea levels rise and coastlines disappear, a future memorial to what will inevitably be lost.

-Colette Fu, an artist and a paper engineer born in New Jersey and based in Philadelphia, is best known for the creation of pop up books. For this exhibition, Fu will create Noodle Mountain, a large-scale pop-up book that illuminates the long history of noodles, a complex culinary connection to experiences of immigration, labor, and collective identity formations in the Chinese diaspora.

-Omar Tate, who is well-known for his culinary creations, identifies as an artist who uses food as one of his many mediums. His work is rooted in the values of nourishment and the reclamation of Black food traditions and cultural aesthetics that can be experienced through his Philadelphia-based grocery and catering business, Honeysuckle Projects, which Tate co-owns and operates alongside his wife Cybille St. Aude-Tate.

-Sandy Williams IV is a multidisciplinary artist who will also create new work for this exhibition connected to their Wax Monuments series. In this ongoing project, recognizable public monuments that are made in traditional and durable materials are recast in wax and positioned on a stage inspired by the steps from the Lincoln Memorial. These monuments, which normally convey a sense of permanence and immutability, will be periodically melted throughout the exhibition.

- Billy Dufala is an interdisciplinary artist in Philadelphia and co-founder of Recycled Artists in Residence (RAIR). Dufala's practice offers a playful and critical approach to the twin problems of material waste and exploitative land use. Future Futures, a site-specific sculpture made of recycled aluminum bales, is a temporary monument that functions as both a material commodity and a staged “performance.”

 

As guests of Grounds for Sculpture experience the exhibition, they will also be invited to relax and consider their own relationships with public monuments. Monument Lab has prepared an inviting interactive engagement space within the exhibition to explore key themes addressed in Slow Motion.

We know our readers will want to learn more. Follow Monument Lab, Grounds for Sculpture, Curator Patricia Eunji Kim and the five artists that are exhibiting in Slow Motion on social media.  Check out their handles!

Monument Lab: @monument_lab

Grounds For Sculpture: @groundsforsculpture

Curator Patricia Eunji Kim- @triciaeunjikim

Artist Billy Dufala- @bdufala

Artist Ana Teresa Fernandez- @anateresafernandez

Artist Colette Fu- @colette_fu

Artist Omar Tate- @coltrane215

Artist Sandy Williams- @sandywilliams_iv

Grounds for Sculpture is an ideal day trip and there are so many reasons why visitors return again and again.  It is a museum, sculpture garden, and arboretum where art and nature come together.  Nearly 300 contemporary sculptures are sited across 42 landscaped acres.  Engaging and educational programs for all ages are offered year-round, and may include lectures from top minds, hands-on workshops, tours, concerts, and performances.

Grounds For Sculpture is located at 80 Sculptors Way, Hamilton, NJ 08619.  Visit www.groundsforsculpture.org and call 609.586.0616.

Photo Credit: Grounds for Sculpture, "Slow Motion" © Bruce M. White

 

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