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Somerby's Landing 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 Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce at 38R Merrimac Street.
We are pleased to present this ongoing exhibit of contemporary sculptures by Massachusetts and New England artists. The latest sculpture by Gillian Christy joins the current four sculptures on exhibit at Somerby's Landing by Wendy Klemperer, Robert Motes, Dale Rogers and Rick Rothrock. Klemperer, Motes and Rogers' sculptures have been gifted to the City of Newburyport.
Over 13 years, 38 different sculptors have exhibited 43 contemporary sculptures at the park. Complementing the rich historical waterfront, Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park provides a contemporary venue for new ideas in form, interacting with waterfront visitors and stimulating 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 see the sculptures every year. Come and enjoy!
Support for the current exhibit is provided by the Firehouse Center for the Arts. Special thanks to the City of Newburyport and the Newburyport Waterfront Trust.
The group organizing the exhibit led by Curator, Jay Havighurst, includes support from 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 About the Park
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 of Newburyport. Three sculptures by artists William Brayton, Joseph Landry and Antoinette Prien Schultze were 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 that were installed on the Clipper City Rail Trail in 2010.
The seventh exhibit, led by Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park's Curator, Jay Havighurst, opened in October 2009 and featured eight sculptures by artists Gilbert Boro, James Burnes, Robert Hitzig, Wendy Klemperer, Robert Motes, Dale Rogers, and Lisa Victoria.
The eighth exhibit, led by Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park's Curator, Jay Havighurst, opened in October 2010 and featured five sculptures by artists Waldo Evan Jespersen, James Burnes, Wendy Klemperer, Robert Motes, and Dale Rogers.
The ninth exhibit, led by Somerby's Landing Sculpture Park's Curator, Jay Havighurst, opened in the Spring of 2012 and featured six sculptures by artists Joseph Wheelwright, Peter DeCamp Haines, Gillian Christy, Wendy Klemperer, Robert Motes, and Dale Rogers.
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 Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.
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About the Sculptures
The current sculpture show includes:
The Space Within, Buds
ln The Space Within, Buds by Gillian Christy, the house-shaped sculpture embraces leaves caught in a continuous spiraling loop. They convey a confluence of energy and form a connection between home and one's surroundings. The delicacy of the composition come alive as the viewer moves around the piece, at times seeing the form solid and then in an instant seeing it as a fragile silhouette barely able to stand. This transition might suggest the temporal nature of a solid home in our modern times.
More about Gillian Christy
Elk
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.
More about Wendy Klemperer
An Imagined Place
A large, 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.
More about Robert Motes
Another Good Day
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. Rogers gifted this sculpture to the City of Newburyport in 2005.
More about Dale Rogers
Eastern Portal
ln Eastern Portal by Rick Rothrock, smooth, white marble with beautiful gray striations creates a striking pattern accentuated by a carved nautilus curve. Benches on each side and a perfectly round portal window that looks through to the east creates a space for contemplation.
More about Rick Rothrock
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About the Artists
Gillian Christy
Christy is inspired to create artwork based on the familiar objects that one may view on a daily basis. She uses the term "Connectors" to describe her work. An award-winning sculptor, Christy has focused her career on creating monumental artwork for the public realm. Through public art she has been awarded grants from the New England Foundation for the Arts, Rhode Island State Council for the Arts, The Rhode Island Foundation and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. In 2008, Americans for the Arts awarded Christy's "Embrace" as America's Best Reviewed Public Art. Christy has also enjoyed commercial success, creating artwork for the NFL on CBS, The Apprentice, Gravity Games and for the W Hotel in Boston. She resides in Boston, MA. Website: http://www.gillianchristy.com
Wendy Klemperer
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. Website: http://www.wendyklemperer.com
Robert Motes
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. Website: http://www.runrunstudio.com
Dale Rogers
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. Website: http://www.dalerogersstudio.com
Rick Rothrock
Rothrock, a resident of Delaware, carved Eastern Portal at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in West Rutland, Vermont where the sculptor is a frequent teacher and artist-in-residence. Stone has been his primary material for decades. He has participated in national and international sculpture symposiums and received the Christi Award for Outstanding Achievement as an Artist by the Christina Cultural Arts Center in Wilmington, DE. Website: http://www.rickrothrock.com
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