GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.- Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park announced the hiring of Dr. Jochen Wierich as Curator of Sculpture and Sculpture Exhibitions.

Dr. Wierich comes to Meijer Gardens with extensive curatorial experience, having coordinated and directed exhibitions at Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art in Nashville, TN as well as the Mississippi Museum of Art and the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture in Spokane, WA. While at Cheekwood, Dr. Wierich organized and traveled the exhibition Jaume Plensa: Human Landscape (2015-2016), the largest exhibition of works by the Spanish artist in the United States to date.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Dr. Jochen Wierich as Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Curator of Sculpture and Sculpture Exhibitions,” said David Hooker, President & CEO at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. “Jochen comes to us with significant experience and will help us further the unique mission of sculpture and horticulture given to us by Fred and Lena Meijer. Meijer Gardens has developed a leading method of displaying world class sculpture surrounded by beautiful horticulture. Jochen’s experience and skill set will add value and new ideas to our collection and exhibition offerings.”

By separate agreement, Dr. Wierich will hold the Lena E. S. Meijer Professorship in Art History at Aquinas College.

One of the world’s most significant botanic and sculpture experiences, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park served 696,000 visitors in 2018 and was recently listed in the top 30 most visited museums in the United States by The Art Newspaper, the leading publication in global art news. The 158-acre main campus features Michigan’s largest tropical conservatory; one of the largest interactive children’s gardens in the country; arid and Victorian gardens with bronze sculptures by Edgar Degas and Auguste Rodin; a carnivorous plant house; outdoor gardens; and a 1900-seat outdoor amphitheater, featuring an eclectic mix of world-renowned musicians every summer. The internationally acclaimed Sculpture Park features a permanent collection including works by Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Richard Serra, Louise Bourgeois, Ai Weiwei and Jaume Plensa, among others. Indoor galleries host changing sculpture exhibitions with exhibitions by Ai Weiwei, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Mark di Suvero, Jonathan Borofsky, Alexander Calder, Jim Dine and others. In June 2015, the eight–acre Richard & Helen DeVos Japanese Garden at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park opened. Created by renowned designer Hoichi Kurisu, the garden features sculpture by Anish Kapoor, Jenny Holzer, David Nash, George Rickey, Masayuki Koorida, Zhang Huan, Guiseppe Penone, among others.