The following artists and sculptures are on display currently at the Topsfield Town Library as part of the 2022-2023 iteration of the Temporary Outdoor Sculpture Program. Check out our in-library brochure promoting the exhibit.
Return to the Art in the Library page
James Kitchen
Piece: Saturn; Contact: james@jameskitchen.com
Rescuing time-worn pieces of metal, once tools or ancient machinery, but now found discarded, is James Kitchen’s passion. “Animating cold lifeless scraps and instilling a personality or creating an emotional response when viewed by others is a magical process that I am unable to articulate.”
“Saturn,” which weighs 3,000 pounds and took five years to complete, was created from all recycled materials — ancient farm tools, old factory parts and pieces, doorknobs, hammers, and endless items of interest to young and old. “It is a sculptural Where’s Waldo in that older viewers will find ice tongs and items used when they were young, and curious kids will turn the wheels and faucets swirling about the piece.” It is also Kitchen’s statement about the harm we are doing to our planet with trash and pollution.
Philip Marshall
Piece: Distant; Contact: phil@philmarshallstudio.com
Philip Marshall, a painter and sculptor working in Massachusetts, was born in rural East Kent, England. He is drawn to public art for its freedom of scale, and because he views it as “gateway art” for those who rarely visit a gallery or museum. Each summer he exhibits at various outdoor sculpture shows across New England. His varied life experiences, extensive world travel, and the people he has encountered, provide a rich source of material. “Distant” was prompted at a figure drawing session. The nude held his pose for hours, eyes fixed on a distant point, maintaining his mental distance under prolonged scrutiny, he and the chair becoming one.
David Adilman and Thomas Berger
Piece: Kingdoms in Peace; Contact: Dhydro2@gmail.com
“Kingdoms in Peace” was created in collaboration by the two sculptors, David Adilman and Thomas Berger. It consists of two rustic granite posts which have been carved into castles, and which are connected by a stone bridge. The castles stand for antagonistic entities: kingdoms, countries, or personalities which have overcome their competition and resolved to live in cooperation, symbolized by the bridge.
Thomas Berger creates organic and figurative work in granite and bronze, varying in size from handheld pieces to large scale public works. Organic forms, fish and invertebrates are among his favorite subjects. A fossil-like appearance points at the vulnerability of life. On the other hand, his play sculptures are friendly companions in public parks.
Berger grew up in a rural town on the Moselle River in Germany, where he developed a deep passion for the beauty of nature He studied agriculture and worked in Germany, France, Australia, and West Africa, and is the owner of Green Art in southern Maine. His sculpture is found in private collections and public parks in New England and beyond.
David Adilman has been a geologist his entire working career but fell in love with sculpture while living in France in the late 1990s. He started in water clay, then oil-based clay, doing figurative work. As a geologist, he has always loved looking at different kinds of rock, so it seemed a natural progression to start carving stone. He started with figurative work in limestone and then marble, and then started making pieces in granite. In addition to figurative work, he has come to enjoy abstract work and the endless opportunities for exploration. “If I make something that others can enjoy, then all the better!”
