Hidden gems in Reeves-Reed Arboretum’s garden: Sculptures by Jon Krawczyk

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SUMMIT, NJ — With the trees bare and the gardens quiet during these winter months, two sculptures, hidden gems by Jon Krawczyk, stand out at Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit.

The first, “Full Moon Over Summit,” takes center stage in the rose garden. The twisting bronze sculpture appears to balance on tiptoe among the historic rose bushes. Its intense patina of earth tones with bright blues and greens adds warmth to the winter garden and seems quite at home in this natural environment.

The second, “Blue Magic,” is a stainless steel sentinel skirting the garden bed of the arboretum’s amphitheater. Its smooth polished steel glistens in the sun and reflects every season, whether it be sparkling snow, fragrant lilacs or fluttering fall leaves.

A graduate of Connecticut College who hails from Boonton, Krawczyk has studied fine art in Europe and apprenticed with various sculptors. He draws inspiration from artists such as Picasso, Henry Moore and David Smith, and is influenced by both their techniques and their philosophies of the sculptural process. He makes his biomorphic sculptures by cutting sheets of stainless steel or bronze and welding, pounding and shaping them with focused heat.

Krawczyk’s work is shown in select galleries throughout the United States; his 9/11 Memorial Cross at St. Peter’s Cathedral in New York City has garnered national attention. Krawczyk has created large-scale, site-specific sculptures for LinkedIn, Apple, Four Season Hotels, the San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park and the San Francisco 49ers stadium. His 22-foot tall, 6,000-pound stainless steel ice-hockey sculpture, Stanley, which hockey fans have dubbed “The Iron Man,” is situated outside the Prudential Center in Newark.

The two sculptures at Reeves-Reed Arboretum will remain there through June. For more details about the sculptures, visit reeves-reedarboretum.org. Reeves-Reed Arboretum is located at 165 Hobart Ave. in Summit.

Photos Courtesy of Doreen Schindler