Gardens The State Botanical Garden of Georgia
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Art takes many forms at the State Botanical Garden—sculptures, paintings, fountains and other forms of artistic expression—and can be found throughout the entire Garden.
One of the first pieces of artwork installed in the Garden is a small copper fountain near the entrance to the Callaway Building. A composition of aquatic plants, stems and flowers, it was created by Lloyd Florence and was a gift to the Garden from the Ladies' Garden Club. A bronze piece added to the Garden's collection in 2006 is titled Flame. It was a gift to the Garden by the artist, Sergio Dolfi, whose work can be found in numerous public and private collections both here and abroad.
La Grazia Dello Stelo (The Graceful Stem) graces the pool located on the Mathis Plaza. The sculpture, carved from Carrara marble, is by John Kehoe and was a gift to the Garden by the William A. Mathis family. Peace, a bronze sculpture by Gary Price, is the focal point of Freedom Plaza which honors the heroic men and women many of whom gave their lives in events surrounding September 11, 2001. The sculpture was a gift from Sarah Evelyn Thrasher and Lucie Thrasher Bryant in memory of family members.
A bronze composition near the front of the Visitor Center is titled Field Trip. It consists of six life-size children engaged in typical field trip activities under the watchful eye of an adult teacher. The sculptures by Gregory Johnson were a special purchase funded by the Board of Advisors, Friends of the Garden and other individual donors.
Clute's Kugel was given in memory of Clute Barrow Nelson. Our Kugel (from the German word for ball) is a perfectly balanced and polished black granite sphere, slightly over two feet in diameter and weighing 816 pounds, which fits into a socket (base) carved to the exact curvature of the ball. The Kugel revolves 360 degrees in all directions and actually floats on a thin film of water. Once started, the ball continues to spin until someone, even a child, stops it, changes the direction of its spin, or sets it on an accelerated twirl. Because of its location overlooking the International Garden, a world map is engraved on its surface.