Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is now home to the first public outdoor sculpture by internationally celebrated artist Nick Cave, also adding a new name to its roster of artists represented in its permanent collection.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is now home to the first public outdoor sculpture by internationally celebrated artist Nick Cave, also adding a new name to its roster of artists represented in its permanent collection. Amalgam (Origin), a monumental, 26-foot-tall sculpture, was installed on the North Path near The Richard & Helen DeVos Japanese Garden and Michigan's Farm Garden and is open to the public as of Oct. 3, expanding Meijer Gardens' collection of more than 300 international sculptures.
"Now that Amalgam (Origin) has been integrated within the natural environment, the work's catalytic power has been fully activated," said Suzanne Ramljak, Vice President of Collections & Curatorial Affairs. "Nick Cave's epic sculpture will stand as a monument to individual and collective strength, and to our profound rootedness in nature."
Amalgam (Origin) is an evolution, on a colossal scale, of Nick Cave's iconic Soundsuits—spectacular forms blending fashion and sculpture that were created in response to the brutal beating of Rodney King by police in 1991. Though they originated as a form of protection, the Soundsuits have since developed into vehicles for empowerment, with Cave having made hundreds in varying shapes and materials, all based on the scale of his own body. Serving as physical camouflage, the elaborate sculpted surfaces create a second skin that conceals race, gender and class, forcing viewers to look without judgment.
Cave's work draws from craft traditions, fashion, vintage textiles and other labor-intensive practices to create surfaces that are visually ornate and historically specific. In Amalgam (Origin), the collage-like element of his aesthetic is expressed by the highly textured and detailed bronze casting. In contrast to Cave's earlier seated bronze, A•mal•gam, the monumental and towering Amalgam (Origin) appears firmly rooted in the earth, as if growing directly out of the soil. Like a community beacon, the sculpture celebrates each person's unique individuality while connecting it to humanity's shared grounding in the natural world.
While Meijer Gardens featured Nick Cave's related A•mal•gam work in its temporary exhibit Forest of Dreams: Contemporary Tree Sculpture Oct. 20, 2023 through Feb. 25, 2024, Amalgam (Origin) is Cave's first permanent sculpture here.
"It's a joy to see Amalgam (Origin) take up permanent residence at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, stated Nick Cave. "After first sharing an Amalgam here in the Forest of Dreams exhibition, returning with a work that will meet visitors across seasons feels right. I made this piece for open air and changing light, and this landscape offers the kind of daily conversation with trees, weather, and people that brings it fully alive. As a Cranbrook alum, bringing my first major outdoor sculpture back to Michigan is a true full-circle moment."
A Chicago resident, Cave has strong ties to Michigan. Receiving his master's degree in fine arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1989, he returned in 2015 for Nick Cave: Here Hear, (June 20 through Oct. 11, 2015) in which he staged seven months of events throughout Detroit anchored by his first solo exhibition at Cranbrook. Cave is a professor at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago in addition to being an artist.
The acquisition of Amalgam (Origin) is made possible by the generosity of Fred and Lena Meijer and the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Foundation.
Media Contact
John VanderHaagen, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, 6169753180, [email protected], www.MeijerGardens.org
SOURCE Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
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