About the Sculpture Park

Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park is located on the waterfront of the Merrimack River, at the west end of the Newburyport boardwalk near The Black Cow Tap and Grill.

We are pleased to present the 2009-2010 exhibit of contemporary sculptures by Massachusetts and New England artists. Two new sculptures by Gilbert Boro, one by James Burnes, and one by Lisa Victoria, join the current three sculptures on exhibit at Somerby's Landing by Wendy Klemperer, Robert Motes, and Dale Rogers that have been gifted to the City of Newburyport. (The most recent acquisition, Robert Motes' sculpture, An Imagined Place, was permanently gifted to the City of Newburyport in 2006 by the generous donation of the Newburyport Art Association.) Also on exhibit is a sculpture by Rob Hitzig that will move to the new Clipper City Rail Trail in the Spring.

The new exhibit, "Energy and Form" explores myth and spirit through various constructions of sculptural form.

Curator, Jay Havighurst, is excited about this year's show because of the variety of materials and the different approaches each sculptor has taken. This show marks the 7th year of sculptural exhibits at Somerby's Landing. Over the past seven shows, 25 different sculptors exhibited 33 contemporary sculptures at the park. Complementing the rich historical waterfront, Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park provides a contemporary venue for new ideas in forms that interact with the waterfront and stimulate viewers both young and old. The exhibit is open all day, every day, year round, free of charge, and is handicapped accessible. Over 250,000 people will see the sculptures during the year-long exhibit. Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park is a participating gallery in the Newburyport ArtWalk. Come and enjoy!

Support for the 7th Annual Exhibit is provided by the Firehouse Center for the Arts, and a generous donation from Newburyport Development / New England Development. Special thanks to the City of Newburyport and the Newburyport Waterfront Trust.

The group organizing the 2009-2010 exhibit led by Curator, Jay Havighurst, includes support from the Kimm Wilkinson, Executive Director of the Firehouse Center for the Arts and Geordie Vining, Senior Planner for the City of Newburyport. This website and the sculpture park signage are designed by Jay and Lynne Havighurst of Artfluence.

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 Brief History

Geordie Vining, Senior Planner for the City of Newburyport, initiated the idea for a sculpture park in 2003 and approached the Firehouse Center for the Arts. Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park was then created through the collaboration of The City of Newburyport, Massachusetts, the Newburyport Waterfront Trust, and the Firehouse Center for the Arts. The goal of the sculpture park is to enhance the cultural and visual appeal of the refurbished waterfront area for residents and visitors of all ages.

Joyce Audy Zarins coordinated the first annual exhibit, with support from Jay Havighurst and other members of the Firehouse Visual Arts Committee as well as the Newburyport Waterfront Trust and the City, which included three sculptures by artists William Brayton, Joseph Landry and Antoinette Prien Schultze installed in October of 2003. Inception of the exhibit was supported by then Mayor Alan Lavender and by Kathleen Miller, then Executive Director of the Firehouse Center for the Arts.

The second exhibit, led by Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park committee coordinator Joyce Audy Zarins, opened in July 2004 and featured six sculptures by artists Richard Aliberti, Bob Emser, Wendy Klemperer, Dale Rogers, and Elizabeth Van.

The third exhibit, led by Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park's Curator, Jay Havighurst, opened in July 2005 and featured eight sculptures by artists Michael Guadagno, Wendy Klemperer, Katherine Knotts and Ron Garand, Robert Motes, Gary Rathmell, and Dale Rogers.

The fourth exhibit, led by Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park's Curator, Jay Havighurst, opened in July 2006 and featured eight sculptures by artists Wendy Klemperer, Robert Motes, Kim Radochia, Dale Rogers, Edward Walsh, and Glenn Zweygardt.

The fifth exhibit, led by Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park's Curator, Jay Havighurst, opened in July 2007 and featured seven sculptures by artists Michael Alfano, Wendy Klemperer, Rob Lorenson, Robert Motes, Dale Rogers, and David Skora.

The sixth exhibit, led by Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park's Curator, Jay Havighurst, opened in July 2008 and featured six sculptures by artists Michael Alfano, David Davies, Wendy Klemperer, Robert Motes, Derek Riley, and Dale Rogers. Also on exhibit were two sculptures purchased by the City of Newburyport from Montpelier, Vermont's SculptCycle 2008 to be installed on the Clipper City Rail Trail in 2010.

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 About the Sculptures and the Artists

The new show of eight sculptures includes an exciting range of work by the following sculptors:

Gilbert Boro
Buckingham Blue by Gilbert Boro, is a dynamic construction in welded steel, that thrusts beautifully curved surfaces 8 feet upward toward the sky. It is part of the series called After the Race II. The intersecting planes energize negative and positive spaces around and within the sculpture. The carefully machined and crafted steel plates are painted with a majestic Buckingham Blue, creating an ambience that reflects the light and energy of the day or night.

In Prometheus Bound, Boro explores one of the most interesting characters in Greek Mythology. Boro's sculpture, Prometheus Bound, stands over 5 feet tall with a large rough cut stone that appears to be floating, but is actually bound by old, rusted chains that literally lift it in the air. Boro focuses on the stone as the metaphor. Prometheus and the great eagle that attacks him –is the myth left open to your imagination.

Boro's Studio 80 + Sculpture Grounds is situated on 4.5 acres in Old Lyme, Connecticut, and is open to the public by appointment. Boro studied carving at The Carving Studio in West Rutland Vermont and The Johnson Atelier in Hamilton, New Jersey, and also studied welding, metalworking and sculpture at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. He holds a BA and MA in architecture from Columbia University in New York City. Boro received fellowships from William Kinne Fellows Traveling Fellowship and The Inter-American Development Fellowship. He also studied studio art at Pratt Institute and City College of New York. In addition, he holds a BA from Duke University in North Carolina.

Boro's extensive teaching experience and awards include lectures and design criticism at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Rhode Island School of Design; lectures at John F. Kennedy School of Government; design studio instructor at Boston Architectural Center; and awards from the American Institute of Architects and the Boston Society of Architects.

For Boro, working in sculpture is a compulsion rather than a possibility. From decades of dealing with the rigors of architecture (where the materials must yield to the design) he takes a constructivist approach in developing sculpture in space and place (where the design must yield to the materials). Website: http://www.gilbertboro.com

James Burnes
A "larger than life" horse, Clyde, by James Burnes is sculpted from logs with unusual contours that form the realistic gestures of the horse's stance. Burnes combines welded and forged Cor-Ten steel – that has a carefully applied patina for an aged look – with the wood to bring this unique horse to life. While the form is abstracted, it captures the energy of the horse's spirit. Burnes built Clyde specifically for this exhibit. Clyde's spirit stands ready to tell you the story of his life.

Burnes has a studio in Weston, MA and in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Born in Boston, Burnes holds a BS in Studio Art, cum laude, from Skidmore College in New York. His work is currently being shown at Mainview Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona and Shidoni Arts in Tesuque, New Mexico. Burnes works in weathered wood, steel, and stone and produces abstracted animal forms ranging from table pieces to life-sized and larger outdoor installations. His sculptures have received numerous awards and reviews.
Website: http://www.jnbdesigns.com

Rob Hitzig
Vermont artist, Rob Hitzig's, Dog Walker, underscores whimsy. Take a stroll along the path to Somerby's Landing to see this unusual tribute to man's best friend and the act of taking the dogs out for a walk. Using recycled bicycle parts, Hitzig plays off of his surreal imagination.

Dog Walker was purchased from Montpelier, Vermont's SculptCycle 2008 to be installed along Newburyport's new 2009-2010 Clipper City Rail Trail.

Wendy Klemperer
Wendy Klemperer fabricated Elk of rebar in a naturalistic representation of an animal that once grazed the woods and plains of New England. It is the first permanent sculpture at Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park. Funds to purchase the Elk were raised by 7-year old Jesse Vining in 2005. Jesse created a campaign to "Save the Elk" with the admirable vision to keep the Elk as a permanent installation at Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park. He met with top businesses, local organizations, and individuals in and around Newburyport. The response to Jesse's presentations and hard work was wonderful. Thanks for principal donations from the Lilliput Foundation, Five Cents Savings Bank, Institution for Savings, Newburyport Rotary Club, Hall & Moskow, the Newburyport Elks Lodge, and many other individuals, friends and family, children and adults.

For nineteen years Klemperer, of Brooklyn, New York and Nelson, New Hampshire, has been exhibiting sculpture throughout the United States. She has had solo shows in New York City and New Jersey and is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. Her work has been written about in the Boston Globe and the New York Times. She has a B.F.A. from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York and a B.A. in Biochemistry from Harvard-Radcliffe.

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Robert Motes
A larger than life, whimsical piece, An Imagined Place, by Robert Motes is built from welded, stainless steel curvilinear forms. The public is welcome to sit on the chair at An Imagined Place, an inviting environment for contemplation. Robert Motes' sculpture An Imagined Place was permanently gifted to the City of Newburyport in 2006 by the generous donation of the Newburyport Art Association.

Motes, a sculptor and designer from Cornish, Maine, founded Run Run Studio in 1999. Run Run Studio is one of the few artisan furniture manufacturers producing original sculptural furniture designs. Motes studied at the University of Pennsylvania, American College of Paris, and studied sculptural design at Maryland Institute College of Art. He has exhibited extensively on the East Coast.

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Dale Rogers
A stainless steel sculpture, Another Good Day, by Dale Rogers plays with perceptions and seem to defy gravity, on view at the top of the walkway near Merrimac Street. Dale gifted this sculpture to the City of Newburyport in 2005.

Rogers, from Ward Hill, Massachusetts, has been a sculptor in stainless, mild steel and stone for a number of years. His work is held in private collections throughout the U.S. and in Canada and Switzerland. His work is represented by twenty-five galleries throughout the U.S. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing.

Lisa Victoria
Orb, by Lisa Victoria is a woven and wrapped 6 foot tall sphere of vines that creates a collective body of revolving energy. The natural growth of the vine organically forms the surface of the continuous, swirling orb. The large volume that Orb inhabits at Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park creates a question of what lies within its form. At night, you may notice Orb glowing.

A BFA graduate of Maine College of Art in Portland, Victoria resides in Merrimac, MA where she also teaches ceramics at Purple Sage Pottery. She has exhibited sculptures at Maudslay Outdoor Sculpture Show and is a member of the Newburyport Art Association. Victoria spent several summers studying in Florence, Italy with Silvia Fossati and also studied at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. In addition to her art, Victoria is a professional chef.

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 Purchasing and contact information

For information about pricing and purchasing any of the sculptures, contact Curator, Jay Havighurst at (978) 768-3600 or email create@artfluence.com, or Geordie Vining at (978) 465-4400. Click here for Google directions or call the Firehouse Center for the Arts at (978) 462-7336. The park is located just off Merrimac Street at the western end of the boardwalk (near the mouth of the Merrimack River), in downtown Newburyport. It is adjacent to the Newburyport Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center and the Black Cow Tap and Grill.

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