The Art of the Garden

Featuring sculpture by Sophie Ryder, Sean Henry, Hanneke Beaumont, and other notable artists

CLEVELAND – The Contessa Gallery at Legacy Village is pleased to announce the opening of a unique exhibition of outdoor sculpture.  To many of us the garden is a reflection of our vision, our style and our aspirations.  We strive to make it our personal oasis – a refuge from the pressures of the demanding world around us.  The sculptor Emilé Antoine Bourdelle succinctly wrote “Art brings out the grand lines of nature.”  While the primary goal of art in the garden is to create balance, harmony, and unity, it does not follow that it has to be purely decorative and inconspicuous. On the contrary, the art of the garden is often thought provoking and deeply emotional.

Exhibiting in Cleveland for the first time, the renowned British artist, Sophie Ryder, creates work that is unlike anything seen before.  Much more important than the outward appearance of her style of working “big” are the subtle gestures, the points of contact, and the attitudes of her characters that Ryder impels us to regard first and foremost as indicators of feeling.

“I sculpt characters and beings... The dogs, the hares, the minotaurs – are all characters beyond animal form... I am not interested in making a replica... if you put a real hare next to one of mine, you would see great differences”.

Another British artist, Sean Henry, explores the narrative capabilities of sculpture through a variety of strategies. His sculptures of human beings are self-contained, often pensive, preoccupied by their inner imaginings, and slightly melancholy.  They exude self-control and a sense of being grounded, engage in different activities, and express a myriad of emotions on their faces. There is always room for the viewers to interpret the sculptures and see themselves in the work.

Although it is the realistic aspects of Hanneke Beaumont’s art – the figures themselves lying prone, sitting or standing in desolate postures – that first attract the viewer’s attention, the sculptures are developed formally according to the principles of 20^th century abstraction. There is a purposeful tension between realism and abstraction, nature and culture, feminine and masculine, modernity and classicism, all presented in terracotta and bronze compositions.

The exhibition will also feature outdoor sculpture by Frederick Hart, and other notable sculptors who are all gallery regulars, with many introducing new work for the exhibition.

Whether you seek a single sculpture as a dramatic centerpiece to your landscape, or are a collector looking to enhance your sculpture garden, we look forward to helping you express your personal taste and values in nature’s magnificent spring setting.  As the poet Joseph Warren Beach so wonderfully stated, “A garden without its statue is like a sentence without its verb.”

Please join us for champagne opening receptions:

Friday, April 13, 2007 and Saturday, April 14, 2007  at our Legacy Village location 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Please R.S.V.P. if you would like to attend at 216.382.7800

To receive images of the sculpture, more information, or to arrange media interviews, please contact Steve Hartman at the gallery 216.382.7800 or cell phone 216.956.2825.