My son and I love to take walks through Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. It’s always a spot where we can slow down, explore, and discover something new. But the next time we visit, the “new” won’t just a seasonal change in the trees. It’s a towering new sculpture.
Right off the North Path, near the Japanese Garden and Michigan’s Farm Garden, a colossal bronze figure now rises above the landscape: Amalgam (Origin) by internationally acclaimed artist Nick Cave.
At 26 feet tall, it’s the first outdoor public sculpture Cave has ever created and now, it’s part of Meijer Gardens’ permanent collection of over 300 international works.
If you’ve ever seen Cave’s famous Soundsuits, you’ll recognize the influence. Originally made as a response to the Rodney King beating in 1991, the Soundsuits were designed as protective, full-body sculptures that concealed race, gender, and class. Forcing people to see each other without bias…