Join Me at Berkshire Botanical Garden This Season

Dear Friends,

My exhibition, “Grand Gesture: Monumental Vessels in the Garden,” will be on view at Berkshire Botanical Garden in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts from May 16 through October.

Throughout the Gardens, you’ll find my large ceramic vessels placed among the changing landscape — pieces that shift with the light, weather, and seasons. Some stand as tall as five feet, yet I hope they feel approachable and inviting, encouraging quiet reflection and personal connection.

For me, a “grand gesture” is not only about scale, but about the spirit behind it — generosity, gratitude, awe, compassion, and love. I’ve always been interested in how form itself can communicate something beyond visual effect, and how these vessels emanate a presence that feels calm, grounding, and alive.

One of the things I love about showing this work outdoors is how the pieces constantly change. Rain gives them a shine, shadows from leaves dance across their surfaces, and over time they take on patina of the landscape itself. It is always deeply rewarding when someone sees a piece in its setting and says, “It looks like it has always been here.”

In addition to the outdoor installation, I will also be showing a group of smaller classically-inspired vases alongside Mark vanDoren's paintings in the Leonhardt Galleries.

A public reception for the exhibition will also take place on Friday, May 15, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.  

I would especially love for you to join me on June 19 at 4:00 p.m., when I will be leading a walking tour through the grounds to talk more about the sculptures, the ideas behind them, and the experience of creating work for landscapes.

Berkshire Botanical Garden is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and I hope you will come spend some time with the work, the Garden, and the quiet conversations that can happen between them.

Warmly,

Stephen Procter