A new outdoor sculpture exhibit by Springs artist Fitzhugh Karol is now open to the public at the Arts Center at Duck Creek in East Hampton, transforming the grounds into what he describes as a “fantasy landscape” of large-format steel works.
Fitzhugh Karol: On the Grounds is on view from dawn to dusk at the arts center, 127 Squaw Road, through Dec. 14, according to the center’s website.
“I wouldn't say it's a conceptual show, but the goal and the drive was to create kind of an outdoor playground. I mean Duck Creek is such a great place because there's so many families and kids there all the time, and it really creates this imaginative play landscape especially during their family nights,” Karol told South Shore Press.
The six works are part of what Karol describes as a “fantasy landscape for the viewers to experience for themselves.”
“Pretty much all of my work, but especially the bigger steel ones—the shapes are all based on real or imagined just sort of conceptual landscapes,” Karol said, adding that he’s enjoyed sketching landscapes since childhood.
Creating a full-scale steel sculpture is a lengthy process, evolving from landscape sketches and numerous cardboard models before Karol begins working with steel.
“I’d make many, many, many of them (models) until I find something that strikes a balance of poetry and kind of a vibe and balance to me. So, they're rooted in my kind of vernacular of shapes and experience, but they're really open for interpretation,” he said.
While some works resemble animals, he said, “Some might be completely abstract; and some might look like a hillside or a portal or something celestial with the holes. It’s really about a playful, generative experience and then what other people see in them.”
Karol said he appreciates the setting at Duck Creek, where his sculptures are displayed alongside a 19th-century barn once owned by abstract expressionist John Little. The space previously served as Little's studio and a gathering place for artists.
Some of Karol’s sculptures are repurposed. One large black piece that returned from a show in Australia was later recycled into three human-scale works. Collectively called Three Little Birds, they are individually known as Try, Buckeye and Spy—named for their shapes and features.
The piece was inspired by New Guinea's volcanic landscapes, which also influenced another large sculpture: Rabaul, colored bright red. This sculpture gets its name from a township in New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
Additionally, Karol is featuring a yellow and a blue sculptures called Field's Jax after a child's toy.
Since the exhibit is outdoors, Karol said, “Anybody can stop by and walk around.” He has also attended family nights at Duck Creek to engage with children and encourage their creativity. Some children have created their own versions of the sculptures using cardstock and foam. Karol also visits local schools in Springs and Sag Harbor with the same goal.
“I love it with my own kids, of course, and it's been a big part of my life but then to go there and to see how everyone responds differently…. One kid was so taken with it the whole two hours he was on the ground building this massive structure and he got completely consumed,” he said. “Meanwhile, lots of other people made little tabletop interpretations of their own creation. So, it gives me one of the most satisfying feelings really to see people interact with and get creative. And to be a part of that inspiration for the people is wonderful.”
Originally from Orford, New Hampshire, Karol studied ceramics at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs.
“Pottery turned into sculpture, and after Skidmore I was an apprentice to an elderly ceramic artist named Toshiko Takaezu, a Japanese woman who lived in New Jersey,” he recalled.
After that experience, which he called “hugely influential,” he earned a master’s degree in fine art from Rhode Island School of Design, where he met his wife, a goldsmith. The couple later moved from Brooklyn to Springs, where they now live with their two children, ages 6 and 8.
Karol said his childhood offered a creative environment. His godfather was a sculptor, his mother worked as a calligrapher, and his father was involved in filmmaking.
“There were a lot of creative things going on around me, and so it was just an evolution,” he said of his interest in sculpture.
The public is invited to visit the exhibit at Duck Creek. For more information, visit https://www.duckcreekarts.org.