Garden sculpture poised for growth: as consumer decorating interests turn to the garden, the sky is the limit for outdoor art and sculpture

Art Business News, July, 2003 by Maja Tarateta

For years, consumer-spending trends have centered on interiors, as baby boomers nested and surrounded themselves with decorative items and collections, including art. Today, that focus is turning inside out, as homeowners transfer their attention to the world beyond their front doors. They are bringing their love of art and decorating into their gardens and lawns, a place where the confines of walls and floors do not apply.

While consumer spending and confidence indices sputtered, garden retail sales grew in 2002. According to a study conducted by the National Gardening Association, consumers spent nearly $40 billion on their lawns and gardens last year, a five-percent rise over 2001.

Ask Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing Group, which has published a research report entitled "Future Vision: Garden Market" what the fastest growing garden categories are, and she will tell you hardware (products that enhance consumer's gardening experiences, including decorative elements) and luxury. When looking at luxury purchases in general, Unity Marketing found that the No. 1 category was electronics. No. 2? Garden.

"I was shocked at that," said Danziger, author of the book Why People Buy Things They Don't Need. But, she added, "this is a natural evolution, turning to the exterior. There is a re-emergence of consumers from their cocoons to connect with the outside world."

A Market Metamorphoses

Consumers who have shifted their focus from the interior to the exterior bring new opportunities to those who create and sell garden sculptures and art. As museums begin expanding their collections out-of-doors and municipalities invest in public art, increased attention is being given to "outdoor, or monumental, sculpture from both the private and public collector," according to Robert Grosman, director of Mitchell-Innes & Nash. The New York gallery deals primarily in Impressionist, modernist and contemporary masters and recently formed an association with the estate of sculptor George Segal.

This has been the experience of Gilles Heinrich of Raleigh, N.C.-based The Art Connection, who represents artist Jean-Louis Toutain. Heinrich has found that outdoor displays of Toutain's monumental sculptures, whether in public parks or during exhibitions, has led to increased interest by private collectors in the "dynamic and fun" sculptures, which people can touch and children are encouraged to climb. "Everybody who wants sunshine in their life enjoys the work," he said.

Indeed, "increased attention from private collectors who now have the grounds on which to site large-scale sculpture and museums that are expanding their galleries and grounds has led to solid growth in the market," Grosman said.

Experienced Collectors

"African Nouveau" artist Woodrow Nash, who said he strives "to create a spectacle and cause a sensation" with his art, said he believes there is a renewed interest in outdoor art, as supported by the statistics. "The baby boomer generation is aging, having spent years collecting and acquiring paintings, drawings and prints for the walls inside their homes and also having retired with some degree of financial security. They are spending more time in their gardens and are developing an interest in enhancing the natural beauty of the garden with outdoor art," he said.

Gallery owners agree that collectors of outdoor art tend to be those who have experience collecting works for their home interiors. "Most collectors of outdoor sculpture also collect paintings," said Jack Morris, partner in Morris & Whiteside Galleries in Hilton Head Island, S.C., which specializes in 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century representational paintings and sculpture with a special emphasis on outdoor bronzes, including the work of lane DeDecker. He said his outdoor art collectors range from private individuals with modest homes to large private estates and ranches, as well as corporations and local and state governments.

Nash agreed, saying collectors of his outdoor pieces tend to have already collected two-dimensional works for the home and may have already added some three-dimensional sculpture to their interiors as well. But when collectors first foray into the world of displaying art in their yards, they tend to begin conservatively, said Nash. "When the decision is made to start making statements about your personal taste outside the home, it is usually limited to private gardens tucked away from the general public," he stated.

The elite outdoor sculpture collectors, however, may invest in "monumental" pieces that can be seen by those off the property. These buyers also tend to precede the purchases with experience collecting in their home and with acquiring the space needed to accommodate such a large work. "It has been our experience that a private collector first needs the physical space and then the desire to enter the world of collecting monumental sculpture, and this usually comes after many years of collecting paintings and indoor sculpture," said Grosman. "Through our representation of Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein and Tony Smith, we have met some of the most dedicated and serious collectors who understand what it means to acquire something for their backyard which could be taller than their house."