As we continue to practice social distancing, we advise everyone to stay at home to flatten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19. The Isolation Project is a virtual tour of our Sculpture Garden and we would like you to enjoy these beautiful works of art from the comfort of your home. We look forward to normalcy and to your visit but for now stay safe and healthy!
“Our congratulations with the Isolation Project. You succeeded to turn isolation into a social gathering at 13th Street Winery. I liked your comments, and especially the details from the sculpture “Opening” on the top of the hill. By showing the fragment of the sculpture you illustrated perfectly the thought I had when making the sculpture: to open oneself can only be done from a safe spot, that which we create for each other. You did beautiful work!” Karoly Veress “Wow, terrific. Well done what a great idea!!!” Paul Sloggett “WOW! WOW! What an amazing website! Bravo/Brava! I could not come up with a better antidote to Life in the Time of Coronavirus. Thank you.” Miriam Gersho “Thank you so much. I look forward to the day when we can visit The Gallery and enjoy your lovely winery and its gorgeous setting.” Freda Cook
The Hardingham Series By Douglas Bentham
The Hardingham series is comprised of six monumental steel sculptures executed in 1990 at the Hardingham Sculpture Workshop at Norfolk, U.K.: Hardingham Wish, Hardingham Dream, Hardingham Heights, Hardingham Sonata, Hardingham Mirror and Hardingham Screen. These sculptures were Bentham’s direct response to the stimulus provided by fourteen days confronted with British steel, hot days tempered by cooling rains, other sculptors’ provocations and his own competitive spirit.
Douglas Bentham was born in Rosetown, Saskatchewan, in 1947. He lives and works in a rural setting near Saskatoon, SK. Bentham graduated with a BA Advanced degree in painting from the University of Saskatchewan in 1969. He received an MFA in sculpture from that institution in 1989.
Encounter By Karoly Veress
Located by the driveway at 13th Street Winery, this sculpture symbolizes the meeting and connection made by two people moving in opposite directions. When they encounter one another they become one.
Source By Karoly Veress
This sculpture symbolizes man opening himself to the source of all power, whether it is a god, the sun or something else. It suggests that we should be open and accepting to all that is given to us in this life. Veress studied literature at the University of Budapest in the 1950s; when forced to leave Hungary he continued his studies in Arts at the University of Leiden, Netherlands.
Pine Cone By Floyd Elzinga
With an interest in the pine cone not only for its complicatedly, beautiful, geometric, natural form but also for the fact that it is a seed, Floyd explores a seed’s reason for being. The seed’s central goal of colonization is reaffirmed by the fact that this large metal pine cone have more in common with machinery and artillery than the natural shapes it resemble.
Wings By Karoly Veress
In this design Karoly symbolizes freedom in wings, partly protecting and sheltering but foremost enabling us to rise above the daily confusions. What Veress expresses in his sculpture relates to all of us, and transcends generations, cultures and races.
Sisyphus By Karoly Veress
Punished for being crafty and deceitful, Sisyphus in Greek mythology was forced to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll down every time it neared the top, repeating this action for eternity. This is humankind and the symbol of human courage and perseverance.
Martha’s Vineyard By Daniel Solomon
The geometric shapes and bright colours contrast with the natural textures and forms in which the sculpture is situated. The sculpture is named after Dan’s wife and recognizes its location in Niagara’s grape growing region. A Toronto-based artist, Daniel is also a professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design University.
Madonna By Karoly Veress
This sculpture honours Karoly’s wife Margot and their first child; the marble was sourced from a Greek Quarry which has been in operation since the time of Christ. Veress married Margot Dooijes in 1966 and in the stability and peace he found, he discovered his love for sculpting.
Necklace By Karoly Veress
Born in the rugged mountains of Transylvania, Karoly has lived through many of life’s adversities. This sculpture represents the many elements of Karoly’s life. The plum symbolizes a life that was suddenly cut off, reflective of Karoly leaving Hungary after the revolution. Yellow is hope, red is love, black is war and revolution and finally orange is warmth and shelter.
Grapevine By Floyd Elzinga
Cleverly employing natural and non-traditional sculpting materials, Floyd describes his conceptual sculptures as, “simultaneously eternally optimistic and fatally pessimistic but rarely without a hint of humour or glimmer of hope.” With more than a decade working with steel fabrication, metal has been Floyd’s dominant choice of materials.
The King’s Chair By Alan Reynolds
Born in Edmonton in 1947 Leslie Alan Reynolds is a constructivist sculptor with a strong influence in Edmonton’s art community, he continues to live and work in Edmonton. Alan began working with welded steel in the 1980s, beginning with abstractions that echoed functional pottery and reflected traditional sculptural modeling, his more recent work explores human form and movement.
Safe At Home VII By Ronald Boaks
Derived from his original painting, this sculpture is a play on baseball however for the artist there is a second meaning. Safe at Home came about when Boaks realized that where he currently lives and work makes him feel safe, something he never felt as a kid or when he was living in Toronto. Feeling safe at home is something that every man, woman and child should feel.
Unzip The Earth By Floyd Elzinga
This whimsical Pop Art, outdoor sculpture installation is made out of stainless steel and concrete bricks. The exaggerated zipper handle and brick teeth give the illusion that the earth is being unzipped. Floyd Elzinga is a working artist in the Niagara region, receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in Halifax, NS.
Endless March By Ilan Averbuch
Previously part of Brock University’s Lutz Teutloff collection this piece was moved to storage for many years due to severe wood rot. 13th Street Winery president Doug Whitty reached out to Brock and Averbauch in the hopes to reinstall the sculpture. Staying true to the original design, the adapted piece is constructed from 6 x 12 Douglas fir and pinned with ¾” diameter wooden pins.
The Hunt By Ken Hall
Exploring the intersection of nature and culture, The Hunt examines the discord between our primal instincts and social expectations. The Hunt was awarded the prestigious Reed Cooper Bursary for Visual Arts. The first limited edition of 5 was installed at 13th Street Winery in November 2015.
Force By Karoly Veress
Unlike a closed circle, this circle is open allowing forces in and out like that of a powerful magnet. In life one must also allow the movement of forces in and out of one’s soul and one’s self. Veress emphasizes that his work not only reflects the time of its creation, but also have a timeless truth.
TIA By Tamara Plugers
TIA is an acronym for Thankful In Adversity. She is the depiction of a strong woman who in spite of the “winds of adversity” that have been, and are blowing against her, is able to give thanks. Using Paverpol to incorporate fabric into her sculptures, Tamara is a practicing artist and a certified Paverpol instructor.
Espalier Athena By Douglas Bentham
Espalier is a horticultural term for a tree or shrub trained to grow flat against a surface. This stainless, steel sculpture is made up of configurations of overlapping and abutting planes. The title is drawn from a Greek mythological figure, it emphasizes the inspiration people have drawn from the human form and nature.
Opening By Karoly Veress
This sculpture is about the strength we gather from the small place where we are together. From that spot, we can do what life asks from us and it gives us the possibility to grope into space. Veress believes that sculpture should not merely be a translation of the human experience into form, but should also explore the aspect of the human psyche that is detached from everyday life.
“X” By Ronald Boaks
This large “X” by Ronald Boaks came out of his interest in its double meaning, as a marker on maps and as chromosomes. Boaks has made sculptures in various media throughout his career. At times he will explore the additive and subtractive nature of collaging and other times he will unite a variety of materials, usually found objects.
Eternal Return By Douglas Bentham
With a reputation as a major practioner of abstract, constructivist sculpture for over forty years, Douglas Bentham has participated in over one hundred group shows. Many of his sculptures grace outdoor settings across the nation and on the property of 13th Street Winery in St. Catharines.
Leonardo’s Wind I, 2017 By Douglas Bentham
This outdoor sculpture is made of burnished stainless steel and measures 7.5 x 8 x 2 ft. “I produce public-scaled sculpture as an ongoing component of my discipline. My belief is that public sculpture can only be defined as such if it meaningfully engages both its setting and the people who inhabit that setting.” Douglas Bentham
C.U.P. By Henry Saxe
Henry Saxe’s Sphere sculptures reflect a tension between the enclosure of the whole structure and the relative freedom of motion of the individual components. This aluminum work is a multi-positional piece, its configuration and shape are limitless.
Palmyra Gate By Douglas Bentham
This sculpture is made out of burnished stainless steel and is part of Bentham’s Gate Series, a series that developed since the completion of his commissioned sculpture of Northridge Developments. The original work was designed to incorporate a stylized image, drawn from the company’s logo, as a lintel above a gate-like opening.
Sentinel, 2001 By Douglas Bentham
Originally from the City of Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, this steel sculpture measures 15 x 7 x 5 feet. It now stands majestically on the grounds of 13th Street Winery. Bentham has exhibited his works nationally and internationally with a career expanding over four decades.
Prayer Seed By Floyd Elzinga
This giant thistle seed is constructed entirely out of food industry components. Currently working in the Niagara Region, Elzinga gets his inspiration from rotten stumps, broken branches, invasive species, ravaged trees as well as polar opposites and dysfunctional objects.
Hey Baal By Floyd Elzinga
Hey Baal is a tribute to consumer production. Made entirely from scrap metal; this piece refers to a processed steel coil in premonition of the shape it will become. Elzinga has made a career out of highlighting and glorifying nature’s rotten stumps, broken branches, pinecones and other dysfunctional objects.
