UMNEWS – Sculpture garden: UM campus will feature works of art

Twelve sculptures, ranging from a five-foot Fletcher-Benton work to a 60-foot Mark di Suvero creation, will soon find permanent homes at the University of Miami. The sculptures will be placed outside at various locations around campus as part of a program to bring public art to campus.

“This represents a real departure because we’ve been a campus of nice trees and great lawns,” William Carlson, chair of the Department of Art and Art History, said. “This is a chance to put things that are really artistic opportunities in the path of the environment.”

Members of UM’s Building and Grounds Committee took a walking tour of the Coral Gables campus last semester to scout possible locations for the sculptures, and they identified 53 potential sites that could be improved with the presence of sculptures.

A George Sugarman sculpture will be placed near the quadrangle behind the Merrick Building. A William King work will go up near the Wellness Center. And the massive di Suvero piece, at more than 60 feet high, will be placed on the University Green in front of the Richter Library. The sculptures are gifts from UM donors, and more could follow.

“Our hope is that these sculptures will engage students and visitors,” said Brian Dursum, director of the Lowe Art Museum, who is playing a key role in the project. “I think people will look at them, they’ll wonder about them, perhaps even scratch their heads. They might walk up and look at them. It’s going to be engaging on a whole different level than trees, plants and flowers.”