Four new art installations are being added along the Florida Keys Sculpture Trail, a series of outdoor sculptures created by the Art Students League of New York and acquired for the Florida Keys by local philanthropist John Padget and his late partner Jacob Dekker.
The pair started working with Florida Keys Arts Council director Liz Young in 2016 to design the Florida Keys Sculpture Trail, which stretches along U.S. 1 from Key West to Key Largo and is in the process of growing from 15 to 19 sculptures in a variety of locations, all accessible to the public and listed on a website that details each work and its creator. Each sculpture was first displayed in New York City as part of the Art Students League of New York’s Model to Monument program, then installed in the Florida Keys as gifts from Padget and Dekker.
“Moonfinder,” the latest acquisition Padget is donating to the arts council, was installed recently at Grimal Grove on Big Pine Key, where owner Patrick Garvey has been supportive of the Art in Public Places program.
In addition to “Moonfinder,” three other sculptures are coming, including “Hourglass” to be installed in Islamorada; “Ectoplasm,” to be installed at Key Colony Beach and “SBNO” to be installed in Marathon. Stay tuned to keysweekly.com for more details of the upcoming installations.
About the Florida Keys Council of the Arts
The council is the acting Public Art Administrator for both the Monroe County and City of Key West’s 1% for Public Art programs. Young and Susann D’Antonio, Art in Public Places county chair, co-curated the sculpture Trail on behalf of Padget and Dekker.
About the Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York was in 1875 by artists for artists, to provide high-quality, affordable studio-based art education. Accomplished artists have trained, taught and exhibited at the league throughout its history. Its instructors and students include Thomas Eakins, Frederic Remington, Reginald Marsh, Georgia O’Keeffe, Norman Rockwell and Jackson Pollock.
