DATE: Thursday, July 17, 1997               TAG: 9707160118

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  151 lines

NORFOLK BOTANICAL GARDEN SCULPTURE SHOW

A WOODEN WING dangling from the treetops. A faux rooftop half-buried in the lawn. An abstract sculpture in a Japanese garden.

These are among the three-dimensional art objects to be found at Norfolk Botanical Garden, which this summer boasts more sculpture per acre than any other outdoor site in the region.

``Sculptors of the Virginia Waterfront'' consists of 23 pieces by nine regional artists. With this show, the garden's collection has been brought up to date from 11 late 19th century statues of artists by Moses Ezekiel that have been on display since the 1960s.

Organized by Norfolk sculptor Matthew Fine, the show continues through Aug. 31. Added to the mix are environmental sculptures that go on view today as part of a Contemporary Art Center of Virginia exhibit.

The works aren't always so easy to find, so clip and save this guide for your own sculpture treasure hunt at the garden.

1. Nine bronze sculptures by Kevin Gallup

The pedestaled works are placed along the walkways in the Rose Garden. Many of the abstract forms allude to forms found in nature, from snakes to seed pods. Yet, Gallup's work can also suggest industrial forms. The Norfolk artist is known for having developed sophisticated means of designing sculptures via computer.

2. ``Like Boulders in the Desert,'' by Neill Hughes

Here is the most truly site-specific piece on view. The Virginia Beach artist, interim curator at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, chose the most architecturally distinctive element at the garden - the undulating roof line of the original buildings - to create an astonishing and funny facsimile. His roof remnant is half-buried in the ground on a lawn known as NATO Vista. Standing near it, you can compare it to its roof twin in the closed-for-repairs NATO Tower.

3. ``American Landscape,'' by Ron Snapp

Snapp gets the goofy award here for his contribution: chain-link fencing with colorful plastic bags stuck in the holes. An art professor at Old Dominion University, Snapp placed his fence pieces in three areas of the garden - by Friendship Pond, in the woods near the administrative building and on a hill across from NATO Tower. Is Snapp signaling shoppers from outer space? The coarse hues come off as floral wannabes - an amusing foil to the real foliage.

4. ``The Canal-side Muse,'' by Neill Hughes

Hughes' homely beast stands on a sunny incline by the canal. It leans forward a bit, as if watching wistfully for the tour boats that regularly pass by. The artist, who believes in recycling, has patched together some intriguing bits of rubbish, including enough shiny metal objects to keep the crows away.

5. ``Oasis,'' by Linda Gissen

The Virginia Beach artist has created a bronze mother with two children, positioning them near the English Border Garden, next to a tiny pond dense with water plants. In doing so, she poignantly connects the feeling of mother as nurturing oasis with its natural metaphor - water. As I stood watching, a dragonfly lingered on the mother's head. Gissen keeps a studio at the d'Art Center in Norfolk.

6. ``Fugitive Figure,'' by Lewis Cohen

This rough-textured bronze figure with a weathered patina is somewhat camouflaged by the surrounding woods. Set on a pedestal near Friendship Pond, the figure is androgynous - more deeply human than specifically male or female. The look and feel of this work owe a debt to the early 20th century sculptor Alberto Giacometti. Surely, more people visiting the park will relate to this figure's drooping physique than to the nearby permanently installed sculpture of nude female nymphs. Cohen teaches art at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg.

7. ``My Land, My People,'' by Linda Gissen

Again, the artist has created a human connection to land issues and metaphors. The figure is of a man with a walking stick. Like ``Oasis,'' this piece features an elongated, essential figure, also akin to Giacometti's. The piece is set near the entrance to the new Perennial Garden. Funny thing: A dragonfly remained on top of the man's stick, exactly in line with his gaze. Like butterflies, dragonflies are symbols of regeneration and immortality - which, uncannily, is part of the meaning of Gissen's work.

8. ``Daedalian'' (The Wing), by Mark Iwinski

Behind the administration building, along the circle where train tours collect passengers, a marker for this work is tapped into the ground. Stand there and look up. You'll see this carved pine sculpture, about the size of a heron's wing span, dangling from the boughs via steel cable. As breezes blow, it moves a little like a coasting bird. The piece is enchanting. Iwinski teaches art at the College of William and Mary.

9. ``Figure No. 2,'' by Jean Booton

This handsome, carved soapstone work is nearly as abstract as you can get while still suggesting a figure. More than describing a person, the point of the piece is an exploration of formal properties - polished areas in contrast to rough ones, gentle curves in relation to jagged cuts. The piece seems to ``face'' a fountain at the rear entrance to the administrative building. If the Norfolk artist's figure sings an aria, it is backed by a chorus of purple salvia flowers, which sway gently to the song. Booton teaches art at Norview High School.

10. Untitled, by Scott Johnson

This piece is so discreet that you could easily miss it. Made of elm, it alludes to Brancusi's ``Bird in Space'' sculpture of 1919 - a kind of streamlined cone. Subtle cross-hatched carving along its body suggests the humble pine cone was its inspiration. Elegant and spare, it is set alongside the pond in the Japanese Garden, just past the walkway. Johnson works for the College of William and Mary's art department.

11. ``Bi,'' by Mark Iwinski

Set along a curving walkway in the Japanese Garden, this aggregate sculpture possesses a delicate Asian sensibility. Wood and stone pieces are carefully stacked and topped with a large, round, upright stone - like an old coin with a hole in the middle that presents a lovely, framed view of the gardens beyond.

12. ``Jigsaw,'' by Matthew Fine

The Norfolk sculptor, who organized this outdoor exhibit, has developed a relationship in recent years with the garden, having staged a solo show of his work there in 1994. His own art is often heroic in scale and shows an affinity for striking silhouettes. Like one of his role models, modernist sculptor David Smith, Fine often prefers forms that have a distinct front and back. Set on a hillock by NATO Tower, ``Jigsaw'' consists of a large steel ``T'' form supporting heavy marble chunks that dangle as if they were light as a sheet on a clothesline.

12 A. ``Glory Hole,'' by Matthew Fine

Though the artist didn't intend it, this recent piece could be seen as a handsome complement to the garden's 2-year-old visitor center, which features a giant clothespin form at the apex of its sunbeam trusses. ``Glory Hole'' resembles that clothespin form. Its title refers to a round opening to a fiery furnace, kept open so glass workers can have access to more heat. Yet the circle in this piece is not a hole but a hefty disk of Tennessee marble. On its smooth side, the disk resembles a gong; on the other, a ridged grate. Fine said he was interested in exploring ``that one little spot where all this energy is coming from.''

Also at the garden are two environmental sculptures that are part of a show called ``Sightings'' sponsored by the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia:

``Cultivus Loci: Lyra,'' by Jann Rosen-Queralt

With this piece, the artist has mirrored the summer sky with giant sponge-and-feather balls protruding from the surface of Friendship Pond. Nearby, tall copper pipe constructions gently drip water, more like the aftermath of rain than a rushing fountain. The huge balls, held above the pond's surface by copper pipes, mimic the configuration of the constellation Lyra along with the three brightest stars in the summer sky.

``Sanctuary,'' by Mara Scrupe

Just off the beaten pathway, tucked in a holly garden, are three magical cats. Scrupe has situated her lime-green mountain lions so that they appear to be shyly venturing from the bushes toward the nearby Renaissance Garden. The artist cast the resin lions from life-scale versions she sculpted. A nearby solar panel collects energy during the day. Then, for an hour at dusk, the hollow cats glow as they are lit from within by neon. ILLUSTRATION: Map

ROBERT D. VOROS/The Virginian-Pilot

Color photos

TING-LI WANG/The Virginian-Pilot

Jean Booton's ``Figure No. 2''...

...sculpture called ``Bi,'' which was created by Mark Iwinski...

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu