PARADISE THIS WEEK THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2005

Sculpture Key West gears
up for opening on Jan. 15

Nearly 100 large-scale sculptures in steel, stone, wood, marble and other materials will be on display in Key West from Jan. 15-March 17, during the 11th annual Sculpture Key West exhibition. Most pieces will be set in a unique outdoor “gallery” in the Atlantic-front state park that surrounds the Civil War-era Fort Zachary Taylor.

More than 80 artists, hailing from the United States and other countries including Argentina, the Netherlands, Cuba and Germany, will be represented in the exhibition. Among them are leaders in the national and international sculpture world such as Robert Chambers, Ron Fondaw, Susan Rodgers, Diana Shpungin, Nichole Engelmann and Key West resident John Martini. The work of emerging sculptors is to be displayed along side that of the featured professionals.

Sculptures will be placed inside and outside the historic fort, in its surrounding moat, in the park’s waterfront field and wooded areas and along the shoreline. Some pieces will stand in other set- tings including the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, 5210 College Road; the Key West Museum of Art & History at the Custom House, 281 Front St.; and Fort East Martello Museum & Gardens, 3501 S. Roosevelt Blvd.

Many pieces, particularly those at the park, are designed to be visible from air and sea as well as land, making them visible to boaters and arriving and departing airline passengers.

Featured artworks in the 2006 exhibition will include Bradley Lezo’s “Duct Ducklings,” a flock of huge metallic ducks made of heating duct material; Mike
Ross’ “Color Fields,” an interactive kinetic sculpture designed to bathe the viewer in colored light; and Doug Makemson’s “Henry,” a nine-foot steel pooch to be perched in Key West’s Bayview Park.

Sculpture Key West’s grand opening reception is scheduled for 3-6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Many of the presenting artists will be on hand, offering hourly exhibit tours and mingling with art lovers. Entry to the reception is free, and the state park is waiving its entry fee during the event. Following the opening, the sculptures in the park can be viewed from 8 a.m. to sunset daily.
Viewing of the exhibition is free with park admission, and visitors receive programs and maps pinpointing the location of each piece. The park is accessible from an entrance on Southard Street, past Thomas Street.
Daily park entrance fees, which include a pass allowing visitors to leave and return, are $1.50 per person on foot or bike, $3.50 for a motorized vehicle and one person, $6 for a vehicle and two people and 50 cents for each additional passenger.

For more information, call (305) 295-3800, e-mail [email protected] or
visit www.sculpturekeywest.com.