A garden of earthly delights

I awoke last week with limited vision. At some point during the night, I had been visited by a spider, which chose to bite me on my eyelid, causing it to swell to epic proportions. Following a visit to the doctor, cortisone shots, eye drops and an overall sense of “why me?” I had to grapple with the fact that my week would be somewhat inhibited.

I looked like someone had socked me in the eye, and it was several days before I could be seen in public, limiting my “gadabout” status for the week. Fortunately, I had already had the opportunity to tour the impressive sculpture garden of Forrest Myers and Debra Arch Myers, located just north of the Callicoon bridge on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River ( www.forrestmyers.com ).

The site of the sculpture garden was once home to the Curtis nurseries, one of the Northeast’s largest tree nurseries during the 20th century. Founded in response to Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.’s call for native evergreen trees needed to populate Central and Prospect parks, designed by Olmsted’s father, the nursery throve for years, employing hundreds of workers.

Since first acquiring the land in 1988, the Myers have transformed what was once a derelict evergreen nursery into a home for 17 of Forrest’s large-scale outdoor sculptures. According to the artists, while not “site specific,” the sculptures, several dating from the 1960s, are “specifically sited” in gardens ranging from perennial and vegetable beds to bog and native environments, all designed by Debra, who, following a successful career in dance, completed her certificate in landscape design at the New York Botanical Garden and in 1997 and started her own design business.

Her interest in native trees and wildflowers is the basis of her design philosophy, “developed from my observation of how many types of plants and trees, some often considered to be invasive species, establish themselves over time.”

Forrest was a founding member of the Park Place Gallery in New York City in 1961 and quickly became a part of the city’s vibrant artistic community. His most widely known work, “The Wall,” at the corner of Broadway and Houston in Manhattan, has been recently reinstalled after a lengthy legal battle to preserve it.

Over the last 20 years, Forrest and Debra have created a unique landscape comprised of sculpture and gardens. The tour, attended by throngs of admirers, was a rare opportunity to visit one of the Upper Delaware Valley’s unheralded treasures, bringing together the work of a major American sculptor and a visionary landscape designer.

Sponsored in part by the Callicoon Fine Arts Gallery, the tour was a culmination of a summer-long, four-part exhibition by the gallery. The tour also served as the premiere for Forrest’s newest work, titled “Framed.” Conceived in 1969 and fabricated in the past year, “Framed” is a 20-by-20-foot aluminum sculpture which encloses a view of the Delaware River.

“This has been a thrill for us” Forrest told the crowd, “To get to the point where we can invite people to visit.” With 17 pieces in all, the tour was leisurely and extensive, giving the Myers the opportunity to explain the process, with details on how the gardens came into being, and the stories behind many of the large and fascinating metal sculptures that were created over the years. Many of the pieces are interactive, with moving parts that sway in the breeze or have become a part of the landscape over time, quite naturally blending in with the gardens and natural surroundings.

Finding a way to make metal become integral and organic to its surroundings is only a part of how special this permanent exhibit is. Forrest and Debra Arch Myers are true visionaries and their combined efforts are (in my humble opinion) most impressive. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of their open garden tour and that I had both eyes wide open to observe and appreciate the amazing works of art that they have created on what was once an abandoned, lifeless landscape.

Visit Jonathan Fox’s blog at workingwithoutanet.blogspot.com .