When a real estate developer and an artist teamed up, this unique park was the result
Montclair's new outdoor art exhibition space, known as Hillside Sculpture Park, could also be called "Pandemic Silver Lining" park.
Located in downtown Montclair in a formerly empty lot owned by local real estate developer Bob Silver, the park opened this fall after Montclair artist Charlie Spademan approached Silver about the lack of indoor exhibition space due to the pandemic.
Before that, Silver's firm Bravitas had been exhibiting the work of local artists in the lobbies of his buildings in town, along with prices and contact information for the artists.
When Spademan pitched the idea of creating the outdoor gallery in the space at Hillside Avenue and Orange Road, he said Silver responded, "I love it, but you have to curate it, and have to have your own work in it."
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Though he felt a bit awkward curating a sculpture garden with his own art, Spademan said that the park was a "no-brainer."
"It has a very unique feel to me," he said. "There just isn't any other place like it in Montclair."
The park's tallest pieces are Spademan's sculpture of a tree, “Symmetry 3-27” and “Conflagration;” he also has a bench in his trademark metalwork there, on loan from Silver.
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Two large colorful aluminum sculptures by Clifton artist Wendy Letven and her husband, sculptor Gary Frederiksen, which grew out of Letven's work in cut-paper assemblage, are also hard to miss. The pieces, “There Are Holes in My Perception of the Forest” and “Four Currents,” were in Manhattan's Riverside Park earlier this year, when Spademan asked Letven if she would loan them to the Montclair park if they didn't sell.
"Half of me wanted her to have the success of selling them, the other half wanted them for the sculpture park," he said.
All of the artworks in the park are for sale, and will be displayed on a temporary basis, he said.
Another coup were two bronze-and-wood works by the late Newark graffiti artist, spoken-word artist and sculptor Jerry Gant, who created most of Newark's public sculpture but is relatively unknown outside the city.
"I wanted a point of view outside our own, not 'old white guys'", Spademan said. "The overall vision of the park is a place that can spark discussion."
Gant's pieces are "See Through Me" and "God Knows Your Name."
Morristown artist Peter Allen also has two works on display, a large brass piece called "Man in a Wave," and a smaller one called “Two Figures on the Mountain,” that combine bronze, stainless steel, rock, copper and wood.
Spademan's iron bench, which Silver had in his home after purchasing it a decade ago, "always has someone sitting in it," viewing the sculpture, he said.
"He can take it anytime, but [Silver] is very community-minded and it's clear he wants it there," Spademan said. "It's important to have a place to sit. It's a very restful place."
Julia Martin is the 2021 recipient of the New Jersey Society for Professional Journalists' David Carr award for her coverage of Montclair for NorthJersey.com.
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Email: jmartin@gannettnj.com
Twitter: @TheWriteJulia
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Montclair NJ things to do: New park has art for sale
