Aug 5, 2019 4 min read Arts & Culture

A Visit To Pratt Institute’s Sculpture Park

CLINTON HILL – Before classes are back in session and students return to campus, head over to Pratt Institute and enjoy its beloved sculpture park—a true gem hidden-in-plain-sight in the middle of Clinton Hill.

Mark di Suvero, Paintbrush, 2016-17, painted steel

Artist and professor David Weinrib established the sculpture park in 1998, curating the rotating collection of nearly 70 works until his death in 2016 at the age of 91. He taught at Pratt for 30 years.

Born in Brooklyn in 1924, Weinrib worked in ceramics early in his career before moving on in the 1960s to sculpture that “challenged the premise of gravity/floor/pedestal through works which cantilevered from walls and hung from ceilings,” according to artdaily.com. He created “multi-form, multi-colored cast resin pieces” in the 1970s while his later work consisted of laser-cut, three-dimensional collages. Weinrib was still working until a week prior to his death, the article notes.

Santiago Calatrava, S7, 2015, painted plate aluminum

Pratt alumnus Wendy Klemperer’s Lions at the Gate, 2001, salvaged steel and marine epoxy

David Henderson, Skylark, 2005, fiberglass and steel

Takashi Soga, Silent Beam, 2003, metal beam and concrete

Leon Smith, Triangle, 2002, steel and fiberglass

Sandy Macleod, Uplifting, 2000, steel, granite, and wood

Cathey Billian, Whispering Bench—Texting, 2014, recycled compressed materials and cast iron

Kenneth Snelson, Black E.C. Tower, 2006, anodized black aluminum and stainless steel

Thanks to Weinrib, Pratt boasts one of the largest sculpture parks in NYC, with large-scale works composed of various materials exhibited all across the school’s idyllic 25-acre campus. In 2006, Public Art Review recognized Pratt Sculpture Park as having one of the ten best college campus art collections.

Pieces loaned to the school by established and up-and-coming artists, as well as by faculty and graduates, are showcased on meticulously manicured lawns surrounded by the campus’s historic architecture. “The result is a sculpture park that enriches our students’ experience of campus life and provides an oasis for the Brooklyn community and the general public,” the school’s website reads.

Pratt alumnus Nao Matsumoto’s Waiting for Coyote, 2006, urethane and aluminum

Pratt alumnus Nao Matsumoto’s Waiting for Coyote (detail), 2006, urethane and aluminum

Ilan Averbuch, The Book Of Stone and Steel, 2005, stone and steel

Jack Youngerman’s Swirl, 1979, steel, and Hokusai’s Wave, 1981, steel (front to back)

Pratt alumnus Beverly Pepper’s Double Sbalzo, 2012, corten steel

Dana L. Stewart, Sitting On His Laurels, 2000, bronze

Pratt alumnus Sung Ha No’s Untitled, 2007, metal

Donald Lipski, F.R.S.B., 1996, wood and steel shovels, auto undercoating, varnish, and steel

Pratt alumnus Allan Wexler’s Pratt Desk, 2012, aluminum, wood, and chair

Following Weinrib’s death in 2016, a Pratt colleague, William Hochhausen, told Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “Though David will be remembered for his many important contributions, it was his role as curator of Pratt’s sculpture park that serves as part of his enduring legacy. His curatorial efforts have created a distinctive college campus at Pratt, one that has been recognized across the United States.”

The sculpture park is a serene green space that feels miles away from the busy streets of Brooklyn. Bring a picnic and relax on the grounds or spend an hour or two trying to locate all of the works. Learn more about the Pratt Institute Sculpture Park at Pratt.edu.

[Photos: Pamela Wong/Bklyner]