Local artists, Hunter Valley Winery work together for outdoor sculpture exhibit

As an artist, Matt Miller often thinks outside the box. With his new sculpture park endeavor, he is thinking outside the entire building.

Miller, a sculptor and art teacher at Scott City High School, has partnered with Hunter Valley Winery to display sculptures in a grass field between the vineyard and the tasting room and in grass around the patio. Miller calls the project Beyond the Pedestal.

Miller, Nathan Pierce, Robert Friedrich, Edwin Smith and Miller's student Libby Miles created the first pieces for the outdoor gallery, some of which are reused from the Sculpture on the Green exhibit at Edward Bernard Gallery.

They have placed seven sculptures plus an installation piece in the vineyard on Route V near Trail of Tears and will have an opening -- weather permitting or not -- during winery hours from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Miller said he wanted to start small to see how this "pilot project" of eight pieces would work.

"I'd like to double that," he said.

He has ideas for themed sculpture contests, like a water sculpture for the lake or a high school exhibition.

"I don't know if I'll be switching so much as adding," he said. "I'd rather see that whole hillside peppered with pieces rather than remove stuff."

Miller said he got "sucked into art" in college. He started at Southeast Missouri State University on an architecture path, which required him to take a few art classes.

"Three and a half years later I was still taking art classes," he said.

He prefers sculpture and said he wants to make it accessible to the public on a more regular basis.

"We're getting better and better with a lot stuff" in Cape Girardeau, he said. "But there's no outdoor constant viewing area to see sculptures."

Pierce, who grew up in Cape Girardeau, has started producing larger outdoor pieces since graduating from Southeast in 2008, but he's had to ship the pieces to other places with outdoor sculpture areas.

"I want people in my hometown to see what I can do," he said. "But the opportunity is just not real great around here."

Pierce hopes others will get involved and get excited about Beyond the Pedestal. New sculptures from high school and college programs will keep the art fresh and keep the momentum the small group has had so far.

"If you don't start getting support from other people to keep going, you can burn out pretty quick," Pierce said.

A piece Pierce entered in the Sculpture on the Green event will be on display at Hunter Valley, and he recently finished one he says might be his new favorite.

Miller said he's been dreaming about an outdoor space for about a year and a half and working on this project at Hunter Valley for about a month. Sales from the sculptures will help pay for insurance and hopefully, he said, other art projects.

Miller said he wants to "raise money through professional artists to be able to fund community projects," like a children's art festival or interactive pieces.

The public will be able to see the sculptures during winery hours, 2 to 7 p.m. Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Miller said he feels more comfortable knowing the art is protected late at night and during closed hours.

The winding road up to the winery, the pond, the field and the vineyards all offer places to install sculpture. Miller and his student Miles, worked on an installation piece of 103 red metal birds screwed into the posts in the fence bordering the entrance, the deck and dotted around the vineyard, just one of several ideas he has to decorate the world beyond the pedestal.

charris@semissourian.com

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