Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids is showcasing the works of American sculptor David Smith in a temporary exhibition that runs through March 2, 2025. Relying on loaned works assembled by the gardens’ staff, “David Smith: The Nature of Sculpture” explores Smith’s deep engagement with nature.
Meijer Gardens is frequently selected by meeting planners as as a destination for outings as well as a site to host events when groups meet in Grand Rapids. It offers multiple customizable spaces that can accommodate very small groups to large meetings and receptions.
“’David Smith: The Nature of Sculpture’ is the first [exhibit] to focus on Smith’s artistic involvement with nature,” says Suzanne Ramljak, Meijer Gardens vice president of collections and curatorial affairs, who describes Smith as one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century. “That same dual passion for art and nature is at the core of Meijer Gardens’ mission, and our existence as a sculpture park can be traced to Smith’s bold and early placement of sculpture out-of-doors.”
Meijer Gardens is set on 158 acres and features a collection of more than 200 sculptures that include works from masters like Degas and Rodin. According to a Meijer Gardens description of the Smith exhibit, many modern sculpture parks can trace their origins to Smith’s outdoor installations on his Bolton Landing property in upstate New York. Widely known as the first American artist to make welded metal sculpture and absorb industrial methods and materials into his creative process, Smith drew on nature to serve as both studio and staging for his complex works.
“David Smith: The Nature of Sculpture” features about 40 sculptures—including a few set outdoors—along with related paintings, reliefs, and works on paper. Ramljak curated the exhibition.
“The majority of the sculpture exhibitions we develop at Meijer Gardens involve borrowing loans from artists and other collections in addition to works that belong in our vast permanent collection,” Ramljak explains. “For the David Smith exhibition, many of the loaned sculptures came from the Estate of David Smith in addition to major museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Park in Washington, D.C.” The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog that was copublished with Hirmer Publishers and available for purchase in the DeVos–Keeler Gift Shop.
Meijer Gardens’ next special exhibition will run April 4-Sept. 20, 2025. Titled “Busted: Contemporary Sculpture Busts,” it will showcase the ancient sculpture genre as transformed by 21st-century artists.
