Hollow Sea
1966
Field Farm at Williams College
Williamstown, MA
Open to the public
This piece was purchased by William Bloedel, a long-time librarian at Williams College, as well as an avid art collector. After his and his wife’s passing, Hollow Sea was bequeathed to Williams College.
Today, this piece remains on view at Field Farm, which is a property 5 minutes from Williams College that is owned and operated by the Trustees of the school. Visitors can stay at the property or hike the nearby trails.
Castle of the Eye
1994
Jardim Vasco de Gama
Lisbon, Portugal
Open to the public
Large scale piece that was made for the Middleheim Biennial in 1994 and then was moved to Lisbon due to Minoru Niizuma’s strong relationship with Portugal. Niizuma had developed a strong working and personal relationship with President Mario Soares while encouraging collaboration between Portugal and Japan, as well as the United States.
This piece is well taken care of by the parks department of Belem and is located right outside of the Jerinimos Monastary and the Presidential Museum.
Castle of the Eye
1975
Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center
Solomons, MD
Suggested donation
Large scale piece that originally stood in the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC in 1975. This piece then moved to the Annmarie Sculpture Center, as it is a Smithsonian Institution as well.
The landscaping around the Castle of the Eye is very thoughtful and it is one of the best examples of Minoru Niizuma’s sculptures existing in nature.
Nest
1961
St. Margarethen Sculpture Center
St. Margarethen, Burgenland, Vienna
Open to the public
Large scale “Nest” that originally was created as part of one of the first sculpture symposiums, organized by Karl Prantl. Sculptors came from all over the world to use Austrian granite and limestone to create beautiful sculptures that remain there to this day. Karl Prantl is said to be the father of the modern day sculpture symposium. Prantl and Niizuma worked together on many occasions, including bringing a symposium to the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York, NY. Niizuma went on to organize many other symposia in New York, Tokyo, Azores, and Dublin.
Located around 45 minutes outside of Vienna in beautiful Austrian countryside, Nest sits atop a hill overlooking the town of St. Margarethen. In this 40 acre land that is largely uninhabited, there are around 30-40 other large scale pieces made by other participants of the symposium. This is the first outdoor piece where Niizuma explored using a pin inside the sculpture and the base in order to keep it balanced. Niizuma went on to make many smaller scale “Nest” pieces that are in various private collections.
Castle of the Eye
1981
Jardim dos Colegias, University of Evora
Evora, Portugal
Open to the public
This piece was made during the 1981 Evora Symposium. Two pairs of identical blocks are stacked on top of each other to form this Castle of the Eye. It was in Evora that Minoru Niizuma to discovered the beauty of Portuguese marble. This sparked a decades-long relationship with the country. Niizuma eventually owned and maintained a studio around 30 minutes outside of Lisbon, near Mafra.
Castle of the Eye is located around 2 hours by train from Lisbon in Evora. Evora is a quiet, architectural town with picturesque Roman ruins. There are over 30 beautiful marble works around the small town as a result of two sculpture symposia in the 1980s. Today, this Castle of the Eye piece has been moved to a location that is nearby, on the University of Evora campus.
Infinity
1983
Lyndhurst Campus of the Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH
Open to the public
This piece was built and installed at what was then the TRW campus. Since then, it has been transformed into a clinic campus but the sculpture still remains.
This Infinity design is similar to a piece in Iwate that Minoru Niizuma created as a part of his organizing the Iwate stone symposium in 1985 and 1991.
Minoru Niizuma Sculpture Garden
2000
Bacalhoa Vinhos de Portugal
Azeitao, Portugal
Open to the public
This sculpture garden is one of two sculpture gardens solely dedicated to the works of Minoru Niizuma. Located in a tranquil outdoor space at the Bacalhoa winery, there are over 30 pieces here, all made with different types of Portuguese stones.
Joe Berardo, a prominent businessman, art collector, and founder of the Berardo Collection Museum was an avid supporter of Niizuma. Upon his passing, many of Niizuma’s pieces that were in Portugal were transformed to create this sculpture garden. Guests can enjoy a tour of the winery and walk through the sculpture garden at their own leisure. The winery is located 45 minutes southeast of Lisbon.
Castle of the Eye
1995
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
Seoul, South Korea
Admission fee
Located outside the main building of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
Minoru Niizuma discovered Korean granite towards the end of his career and started to exhibit in Korea after many decades of exhibiting in Japan. Niizuma had solo exhibitions at the Park Ryu Sook Art Gallery as well as at other galleries and institutions.
Untitled
1994
Jardim Paulo Vallada
Porto, Portugal
Open to the public
This was the first and only public park that Minoru Niizuma designed. He installed this giant sculpture which measures 15’ by 15’ and is over 30’ tall. This piece is on top of a small hill overlooking the entire park. Throughout the park, there are small granite sculptures that dot the landscape and that children can climb and play with.
Castle of the Eye
1994
Parque Botanico do Montiero-Mor
Lisbon, Portugal
Admission fee
This Castle of the Eye, made of pink Portuguese marble sits inside the Lago do Niizuma in the botanical gardens at Montiero-Mor. Diverging from the typical Castle of the Eye series, this piece is asymmetrical and shows rougher grooves than most others.
Located in the north of Lisbon, this is the only Niizuma sculpture that sits inside a body of water. The tranquil and natural setting of the botanical gardens is exactly what Niizuma envisioned when building and installing this piece.
Castle of the Eye
1986
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
Lisbon, Portugal
Admission fee
This Castle of the Eye sits in the inner courtyard at the Calouse Gulbenkian Museum. Visitors are intrigued by this piece and can’t help but touch and interact with it. The first thing people often notice is the detail in each concentric, square groove. From afar they may seem uniform, but up close, you can observe the detailed craftsmanship of each cut.
Minoru Niizuma had several shows at the Gulbenkian including a solo show in 1986. President Mario Soares, as well as other friends and supporters attended the opening.
Castle of the Eye
1986
Calouste Gulbenkian Museum
Lisbon, Portugal
Admission fee
This Castle of the Eye sits at the entrance to the modern art wing of the Gulbenkian museum. Guests can enjoy this piece from the sidewalk without entering the museum. This piece was made for Niizuma’s solo exhibition in 1986 and acquired by the museum.
Castle of the Eye
1995
Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden
New Orleans Museum of Art
New Orleans, LA
Admission fee
This Castle of the Eye sits at the entrance to the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Sydney and Walda Besthoff, prominent art collectors in the 20th century, were supporters of Minoru Niizuma’s work and collected his most recognizable piece, the Castle of the Eye. At the moment, this is only location to see Niizuma’s work in the South.
Photo: © New Orleans Museum of Art
Untitled
1971
Highway 81 rest stop
Burlington, VT
Open to the Public
One of the first symposia in the United States that Minoru Niizuma attended was the International Vermont Symposium in 1971, organized in part by Karl Prantl. Most of the sculpture are made of granite, a stone that is well suited to stay outdoors and withstand the challenging conditions of the Northeast.
Today, this piece still stands in a rest stop along Highway 81. Visitors are invited to get up close to touch and interact with this piece in anyway that suits them.
Photo: © Arts Management Services
Castle of the Eye
1978
University of College Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
Open to the Public
In 1978, Minoru Niizuma was invited to Meithal ‘78, which was a sculpture symposium in Dublin, Ireland. There, he created a marble Castle of the Eye, using Irish marble of course, that still stands to this day. This is one of the pieces where you can see nature creeping back onto the stone. Niizuma always said that his pieces are from the Earth and one day, they all might return there.
Niizuma Garden
1999
Sekigahara Ningenmura Foundation
Sekigahara, Gifu, Japan
Open to the Public
After moving to the United States in 1959, Minoru Niizuma did not return to Japan for 14 years. However, once returning, he discovered resources that would allow him to build both small and large scale sculptures. Niizuma spent a significant amount of time working with the Ningenmura company, as the business is focused on sourcing stone as well as building tools to work on stone.
After Niizuma’s passing, he left many sculptures at the Ningenmura Company that were turned into an outdoor sculpture garden, now called the Niizuma Garden. There is also an indoor viewing space called the Niizuma Museum, where you can view pieces that are meant to be indoors. Both of these are on the same campus and are located a little over an hour outside of Kyoto or Nagoya. This is the only sculpture garden wholly dedicated to Niizuma’s work in Japan.
Photo: © Sekigahara Ningenmura Foundation
Castle of the Eye
1988
Fujimidai Park
Shimoyuki, Hachioji, Tokyo
Open to the Public
This large scale marble sculpture was created as a part o the 7th Hachioji Stone Sculpture Symposium. It sits inside the park atop a hill overlooking the entire park. This is one of two pieces made during this symposium that remains in this park.
Photo: © Portal Site of Public Art
Infinity
1988
Fujimidai Park
Shimoyuki, Hachioji, Tokyo
Open to the Public
This large scale marble sculpture was created as a part of the 7th Hachioji Stone Sculpture Symposium. It sits inside the park on the Southwest side. This is one of two pieces made during this symposium that remains in this park.
Photo: © Portal Site of Public Art
Castle of the Eye
1993
Sapporo Art Park
Sapporo, Japan
Admission Fee
This large scale marble Castle of the Eye is similar to the one located at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, South Korea. The perimeters of each cube are very rough and give it an unrefined look.
Photo: © Ameblo, Nabe.
Photos © Arata Niizuma or Minoru Niizuma unless otherwise noted.