These statues at Old Westbury Gardens defy gravity

Things are certainly looking up this summer with a visit to Old Westbury Gardens. Acrobats are tumbling, tightrope walkers are teetering and a host of athletes — including a hurdler, a golfer and a discus thrower — are all displaying their prowess. Defying gravity and expectations, the panoply of action figures are not human but bronze sculptures created by Polish artist Jerzy “Jotku” Kędziora that currently hover above the historic property’s allées, flower gardens, paths, pools and ponds in the outdoor exhibition “Balance in Nature,” which will be there through Oct. 13.

“They encourage visitors to experience the gardens in new ways,” Nancy Costopulos, the estate’s president and CEO, says of the 33 sculptures strewn throughout 60 of its 200 acres. “To gaze up and realize how big the linden trees are or meander along the lake trail, a section of the grounds people don’t often explore, and appreciate the solace and beauty.”

Flying in the face of the traditional practice of mounting sculpture on pedestals, Kędziora’s works are commonly suspended on wires, attached at only a point or two. “Placed between the earth and sky, the sculptures direct the viewer’s sight and imagination to the higher strata of the surrounding spaces and dreams,” the artist says of his creations.

“They are particularly well-suited to the venue because the gardens are so beautiful as is and the statues maintain the grounds’ aesthetic value,” observes Costopulos. “You just happen upon them, tucked high in a tree or floating above a pond.” The bucolic setting is a departure for the installation of the sculptures, as they have been displayed largely in urban environments, including Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Miami, Prague and Krakow, Poland. The Westbury Gardens exhibition is the artist’s first in the New York area.

As a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, Kędziora witnessed the beginning of Poland’s Solidarity movement, which strongly affected his art making. As one critic put it, Kędziora’s precariously balancing works “present not only a feat of engineering but also a public commentary on the thin line between the extremes of choice — both political and personal.”

Although the sculptures possess a certain weightiness, they also display a distinct buoyancy in terms of their physicality and themes. While the bell-shaped couple in the walled garden area appear firmly planted — albeit on tiptoe — they can be gently moved by the wind. So, too, are many of the other sculptures, including a rower installed above the West Pond and a pair of gymnasts cartwheeling over the South Allée. The only non-anonymous figure, Charlie Chaplin, appears on a ladder tottering over the swimming pool.

“They keep the gardens active,” notes Costopulos, “defying the laws of nature. They are somewhere between science and magic.”