Gardens acquires new sculpture

Art

Apr 25

Nick Cave - Amalgam (Origin) photo James Prinz © Nick Cave. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park has acquired a new monumental sculpture for its permanent collection, Amalgam (Origin) by internationally celebrated artist Nick Cave. Amalgam (Origin) is Cave’s first public outdoor sculpture.

“With its epic scale and artistic import, this acquisition underscores our ongoing commitment to sculpture that is at once transporting and challenging,” said Suzanne Ramljak, Vice President of Collections & Curatorial Affairs, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. “The art of Nick Cave is new to Meijer Gardens’ collection and we are delighted that this exceptional artist will be represented by such a supremely powerful work.”

Amalgam (Origin) is an evolution of Nick Cave’s iconic Soundsuits, forms blending fashion and art, originally created in response to the 1991 police beating of Rodney King. Initially conceived as protective armor, the Soundsuits have become symbols of empowerment, concealing race, gender, and class to encourage unbiased viewing.

Standing 26 feet tall, Amalgam (Origin) appears firmly rooted in the earth, as if growing directly from the soil. The sculpture celebrates each person’s individuality while connecting it to humanity’s shared grounding in the natural world.

“I am thrilled that Amalgam (Origin) will be finding a permanent home at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park,” said Cave. “It was developed specifically to be placed outdoors, and I can’t imagine a better home than at Meijer Gardens. Having done my graduate studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art, I also love the full-circle moment of my first major outdoor sculpture being in Michigan. I hope to see real birds nesting in the bronze branches when we visit next spring.”

Amalgam (Origin) will be installed by October alongside the North Path near The Richard & Helen DeVos Japanese Garden and Michigan’s Farm Garden. It arrives from a recent exhibition with two of his other new works at Jack Shainman Gallery in Tribeca in New York City.

This work expands and diversifies Meijer Gardens’ permanent collection of more than 300 international sculptures, and is made possible by the generosity of Fred and Lena Meijer and the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Foundation.