Multi-Sensory Experience – Night Forms

Mar 13, 2024 by Two Sues On the Aisle

By Sue Weston and Susie Rosenbluth, Two Sues on the Aisle

Spend an evening under the stars, at the Grounds For Sculpture (GFS), in Hamilton, New Jersey. Enjoy an extraordinary light and sound experience, wandering through the parks, on a self-guided tour of the Night Forms exhibit. This collaborative exhibition creates an interactive dialogue fusing music, light, and motion into a multi-sensory experience with the GFS landscape and art. This is the third and final installment of GFS’s partnership with Klip Collective and brings back the most popular works including Froghead Rainbow and the retro video game-inspired installation of the Dorion sculpture.

Experience art in a way you never imagined. Walk through the curated grounds where even the art as the scenery comes alive with intrigue and magic.

Night Forms will be at the GFS from November 24, through April 7, 2024. The exhibit is open Friday – Sunday, from sunset until 10 PM (last tickets are available at 9 PM). Advance-timed ticket reservations are available and recommended.

Experience the Lights and Sounds

The Night Forms’ after-hours experience is a synthesis of light, sound, and video projection mapping, a process pioneered by Klip Collective. Each illuminated installation offers a unique, layered dialogue incorporating artwork and the landscape. Some of the sculptures featured include works by Bruce Beasley, Dorion; Isaac Witkin, Eolith; and Michelle Post, The Oligarchsas well as the Red Maple Allée.

Visitors follow a winding path lining the GFS Main Loop. At every turn, they are presented with installations illuminating the night sky in a tapestry of colors. In total, there are 20 installations tucked in private alcoves, radiating color, light, and sound, each accompanied by an original soundtrack created by electronic musicians. This multi-sensory feast showcases the topography, and sculptures, revealing just a fraction of the GFS exhibits.

The Klip Collective

Klip Collective uses a unique synthesis of projection mapping, lighting, and sound design to create captivating, immersive sensory experiences. Through the creation of an innovative immersive visual and sonic landscape that draws inspiration from, and adds dimension to space, audiences are invited to interact in a dynamically transformed atmosphere.

Ricardo Rivera, Creative Director and Founder of the Klip Collective is a site-specific installation artist and pioneer of projection mapping. Rivera has directed several ambient light and sound experiences, including Nightscapeat at Longwood Gardens and Electric Desertat the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Rivera applies his live performance and film background to the transformation of spaces, layering architecture and filling landscapes with light and sound, resulting in immersive, sensory environments.

GFS During the Day

Return during the day to see these GFS works in an entirely different light. The GFS is open year-round providing a treasure trove of larger-than-life sculptures, featuring over 300 pieces by renowned and emerging artists interspersed across the grounds. Stroll through the 42-acre not-for-profit sculpture park, arboretum, and museum, founded by the late Seward Johnson of the Johnson and Johnson family.

GFS combines art and nature to surprise, inspire, and engage visitors. In addition to its permanent collection, GFS includes exhibitions in six indoor galleries.

Perfect Outdoor Destination

Grounds For Sculpture makes the perfect date destination, ideal for an outing with friends and family, and Night Forms is a great activity for after Shabbat. The free-flowing larger-than-life sculptures and instillations will capture the imagination of the old and young alike.

During the day you can walk through the grounds, touch and experience hundreds of sculptures that blend and complement the thousands of exotic trees and flowers. This outdoor experience is handicapped accessible, with a path designed for personal wheelchairs, Electric Convenience Vehicles, and other mobility aides [available to rent from the Welcome Center].

Night Forms gives visitors the rare opportunity to experience the park at night. Seeing the grounds during the night provides an entirely different and engaging connection to art nestled amid a lush landscape and the rolling hills of GFS.

Visit the Grounds for Sculpture and enjoy the creativity and inspiration of art and nature.