WESTFIELD — A new art installation that celebrates life’s quiet moments has been turning heads in Westfield where residents and visitors alike are invited to check out five different sculptures by the late artist Seward Johnson.
Mr. Johnson, who founded Hamilton’s Grounds For Sculpture in 1992, is known throughout the art community for his unique, life-sized bronze statues that depict realistic human figures set in public spaces.
The five lifelike figures — collectively titled Reflections of Ordinary Life — appear to be fishing and playing with their dogs at Mindowaskin Park, washing the windows at the Rialto Theater, embracing in front of the Westfield Fire Department and painting a downtown scene near Arcanum Hall.
“I’ve chosen to sculpt ‘real life’ because in our busy society — filled with so much technology and idle distraction…the human spirit triumphs, if only for moments in a day. I try to have my work call attention to those moments,” the artist said before his death in 2020.
Mr. Johnson’s well-traveled works have been displayed in prominent public spaces around the world including Times Square, Rockefeller Center, the Venice Film Festival and the G20 World Leaders Summit. According to information provided by the Town of Westfield, more than 400 of Mr. Johnson’s pieces have also found themselves absorbed into museums, gardens and private collections in North America, Europe and Asia.
“This ‘living’ artwork fools the eye by incorporating daily life, realism and attention to detail into the fabric of the art,” Mayor Shelley Brindle said, adding that the pieces have been strategically placed to blend into the scenery of Downtown Westfield.
The five sculptures were installed throughout Westfield last week and will remain on display through January of 2025.
The exhibit, town officials said, has been made possible in part by a 2024 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners and the participation of the Scripps Howard Fund. The project is also being supported by a donation from the film crew behind The Room Next Store, which recently utilized the Town Hall building in scenes with actors John Turturro and Julianne Moore.
“Thanks to the Public Arts Commission for collaborating with the Seward JohnsonAtelier to bring these incredible pieces to the community,” Mayor Brindle said.
