By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

There is a progression of development for an artistic institution, in some ways gaining a particular piece of art is only the beginning of an institution’s relationship with an artist and that artist’s legacy — often, the institution becomes part of the artist legacy.

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s 2009 acquisition of Beverly Pepper’s monumental sculpture “Galileo’s Wedge” — a soaring steel object of visual beauty and, simultaneously, engineering mastery which rises nearly 40 feet into the sky and an undefined depth into the ground — led directly to it gaining more than 900 artistic items associated with the artist.

Some of those associated artistic items, part of a trove of prints and models and photos donated by the artist to Meijer Gardens, form the focus of the current featured exhibit at Meijer Gardens, “Drawn Into Form: Sixty Years of Drawings and Prints by Beverly Pepper”, which opened Feb. 2 and will run through April 29.

Those items, many of which are and will in the future will be of great interest to scholars and researchers delving into Pepper’s art and artistic process, are also an example of the ongoing progression of of Meijer Gardens from being a showcase of art to being an institution of art.

“I think it is a natural progression,” Joseph Antenucci Becherer, chief curator and vice president of Meijer Gardens, said to WKTV. “We are a young organization, in many ways, but we are aging well and we are aging with some rapidity. And the idea that we have this enormous permanent collection, there is more than 300 sculptures in our permanent collection, that it is supplemented by prints and drawings is a natural progression.”

And that progression fits in naturally with the mission of Meijer Gardens.

“The mission of Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park has been its commitment to sculpture, and gardens and horticulture, and the arts,” Becherer said. “We are very fortunate because the vast majority of our permanent collection is out on display, all times of the year, all seasons, in the park. However, from the very beginning, we have also collected two-dimension works, prints and drawings, as long as that person was primarily recognized as a sculptor.

“We have prints by Henry Moore, we have prints by Louise Nevelson, we have prints by many of the other sculptors who are part of this collection,” he said. “But this group is incredible as a gift from Beverly Pepper, more than 900 works. This collection will be here permanently. It can be accessed with advance notice, by scholars, by people that are doing research. I would say that in the future, when our new building opens, it will be much easier for scholars to come in, to access the collection.”

And, of course, the Pepper collection also gives Meijer Gardens “the opportunity to work with sister organizations across the country, around the world, to loan objects,” he added. “So these prints and drawings would be available to them if they would want to show them, to participate in come kind of exhibition. So really it is a great resource for us, but it is a great resource for the world.”

Meijer Gardens, with acquisition, forms relationship with artist

Pepper’s donation, and the current exhibit, are also an example of both a unique opportunity for Meijer Gardens and a not-uncommon opportunity when an artist and an artistic institution have established a trusting relationship.

“What you see often time happening with major artists that don’t have their own museum or establish a big estate, or something along those lines, is that they make major gifts to cultural organizations,” Becherer said. “So we are sort of following in a time-honored tradition.”

And that relationship, that tradition, was touched upon in a statement by the artist herself.

“Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park has clearly demonstrated a strong commitment to my sculpture and I am enthusiastic to now have this major body of my work there.” Pepper said in supplied material. “To have in one location a space to study, compare and sequence my drawings and prints is an exceptional opportunity.”

Pepper  was born 1922 in Brooklyn, N.Y., and now lives and works in Italy. Her works have been exhibited and collected by major arts institutions and galleries around the world, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Les Jardins du Palais Royal in Paris, and The Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo, Japan.

Pepper is world-renowned for her “monumental” works — such as “Galileo’s Wedge” — which often incorporate industrial metals like iron, bronze, stainless steel and stone into sculpture of a monumental scale.

Associated with the exhibit will be several special events including a March 18 discussion on “Five Great Women Sculptors” by Suzanne Eberle, Professor of Art History at Kendall College of Art & Design. The talk will focus on important female artists — including Pepper, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Louise Bourgeois, Barbara Hepworth, and Louise Nevelson — who have worked in large scale.

For more information visit meijergardens.org .