GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, one of the nation’s most significant sculpture and botanic experiences, will host an upcoming exhibition by celebrated American sculptor Jonathan Borofsky. On display January 30 through May 10, 2009, it will be the first of only two exhibitions for Borofsky this year. Borofsky describes his work as being connected through “the search for human understanding – symbols that give us a feeling of connection to each other.”

Among the most significant figurative artists of his generation, Borofsky is widely admired for his public commissions across the globe. This exhibition presents an extraordinary opportunity to view the artist’s latest work, Human Structures & The Light of Consciousness, designed specifically for Meijer Gardens’ galleries and unique to this exhibition. Maquettes and prints related to this work and Male / Female, a 23-foot aluminum sculpture in Meijer Gardens’ permanent collection, will be on display along with a group of rarely seen paintings by the artist.

Borofsky will be on-site in January to create the site-specific architectonic sculpture which guests can walk around and through. The work is comprised of hundreds of male and female figures which connect at the hands, feet and heads. The “human structures” are cast in brightly-colored Lexan® — an industrial strength plastic. During installation, Borofsky will arrange the figures according to color, and then compose the sculpture by pulling from these colors; a kind of color palette from which the artist creates. “Frequently utilizing stylized descriptions of male and female figures, Borofsky suggests the commonalities shared across humanity regardless of race, gender or creed,” said Joseph Becherer, Director of Exhibitions and Curator of Sculpture at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

The human figure has been critical to Borofsky’s repertoire since first achieving international acclaim in the late 1980s and 1990s resulting in critically important projects in Europe, Asia and North America. The artist recently completed monumental sculpture projects in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seoul and Beijing.

About Jonathan Borofsky

Recognized as one of the most significant American sculptors of our time, Jonathan Borofsky (b. 1942) is widely admired for his public commissions across the globe. Borofsky frequently utilizes stylized descriptions of male and female figures to suggest the commonalities shared across humanity regardless of race, gender or creed.

Recent commissions include People Tower, a 65-foot sculpture permanently installed in Beijing Olympic Park; Walking to the Sky, a 100-foot sculpture permanently installed at the Kiturami Building in Seoul;

Humanity in Motion, a 145-foot glass atrium in the new Comcast Center in Philadelphia; Human Structures (San Francisco), a 36-foot sculpture permanently installed in the courtyard of the Tishman- Speyer building in San Francisco and Molecule Man – a 50-foot sculpture permanently installed in the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, IA.

Borofsky is currently developing projects in Sweden, Korea and several locations in the United States. In May 2009, Borofsky will exhibit five large paintings from the Human Structures  series at Deitch Projects, NY.

One of the nation’s most significant botanic and sculpture experiences, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park serves more than a half-million visitors annually. The 132-acre grounds feature Michigan's largest tropical conservatory; one of the largest children’s gardens in the country; arid and Victorian gardens; a carnivorous plant house; outdoor gardens; and a 1750-seat outdoor amphitheater, featuring an eclectic mix of world-renowned musicians every summer. The internationally acclaimed Sculpture Park features a permanent collection including works by Rodin, Oldenburg, Moore, Bourgeois and Plensa among others. Indoor galleries host changing sculpture exhibitions with recent exhibitions by Picasso, Degas, di Suvero and Chihuly. For additional information, please visit:   www.meijergardens.org.