LeRoy sculptor turns garden into art gallery open to the public
The Democrat & Chronicle profiles LeRoy resident and sculptor Adriana Slutzky.
Slutzky's work has been featured in museums and galleries of the region, but it sounds like the best place to see her work is in her and her husband Jack's wooded backyard along Oatka Creek.
This Dutch-American artist had always relied on her high energy level — a necessity for anyone building large-scale sculptures that weigh several hundred pounds. In the past four years, she and Jack created a four-acre sculpture garden around their home. Open to the public, it features more than 40 of her highly accomplished pieces.
Much of that art celebrates female vitality. After her Jan. 24 stroke, Slutzky feared losing her own resilience. She's often fatigued and her blood pressure rises sharply at times.
"It's not the same for me," she says. "I understand I'm walking on the edge."
Now 65, she brings that heightened sense of urgency to her most recent garden sculpture. Full Moon will feature 28 female figures circling around a pool of blue glass.
"Maybe we'll have a ceremony when it's finished," she says. "We'll invite our friends to have a beer and howl at the moon."
The Slutzkys began the garden as an unorthodox open-air showcase for her work. Their heavily wooded property slopes from Oatka Trail to the trout-filled Oatka Creek — an arcadian setting with sculptures atop flower beds and patios.
"I try to fit in the art so it's a natural extension of the environment," says Jack, 71, a painter and writer.
A Google search turns up this photo by C.G. Hubbell of Diversity sculpture in Maplewood Park. Rocwiki has an entry on The Seat of Forgetting and Remembering.
