Sculpture pictured joining nature in New Jersey
The brainchild of artist/sculptor J. Seward Johnson, Grounds for Sculpture is a 42-acre landscaped park outside Trenton.
It is not just a collection of Johnson’s ubiquitous trompe-l’œil painted sculptures (like a huge Marilyn Monroe or the sailor kissing a nurse in New York’s Times Square on V-J Day). It is a collection of 300 contemporary sculptures, an arboretum, a museum with indoor galleries and rotating exhibits, musical and performing arts concerts, and even a Zagat-rated French restaurant. In a New York Times interview, Johnson said, “I want my work to disappear into the landscape and then take a viewer by surprise.” He wanted the people who visit to become friends and visit over and over. Over the years, in all four seasons, Inquirer staff photographer Tom Gralish has done just that.