STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.- Norman Rockwell Museum announce the opening of Hidden Worlds and Wonders: Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, a whimsical and thought-provoking outdoor installation that runs through October 26, 2025. This juried exhibition brings together the imaginative work of 14 contemporary sculptors whose art engages with themes of illusion, curiosity, discovery, and play. Presented in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition, I SPY! Walter Wick’s Hidden Wonders, the outdoor sculpture show invites visitors of all ages to explore a world inspired by invention and joy.

Installed throughout the Museum’s picturesque 36-acre campus, the sculptures reflect themes drawn from Wick’s captivating artistry including seek-and-find worlds, optical illusions, curiosity shops, and handcrafted environments. The result is an immersive, outdoor experience where art, nature, and wonder meet.

"We’re thrilled to share this playful and imaginative exhibition with our visitors," said Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, Chief Curator and Rockwell Center Director. "These artists have crafted works that celebrate discovery and the transformative power of curiosity in unique and individual ways. The installation perfectly echoes the spirit of photographic illustrator Walter Wick’s work."

Sculptures by the following distinguished artists are being featured:

Robert Bangiola 

Bangiola is a Hudson–based artist known for creating sculptural installations from tree trunks and branches. Set in natural landscapes, his open structures evoke sanctuary, ceremony, and quiet mystery. Often resembling pergolas, wedding canopies, or burial scaffolds, the works invite a sense of familiarity while encouraging deeper reflection on our relationship with nature. A longtime arts professional with experience at Bard College, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Disney, and the U.S. Department of State, Bangiola began exhibiting his work in the Hudson Valley in 2017. Rooted in childhood play and a fascination with the woods, his sculptures serve as portals—carefully balanced connections between the human world and the wild.

Ricky Bernstein

Bernstein’s colorful, larger-than-life artworks blend whimsy with sharp social insight, exploring the roles, expectations, and aspirations of people in society. Set in a still life-sitcom format, his amusing characters invite reflection on modern routines, multitasking, and gender roles. Each piece tells a story like a scene in a play—infused with humor, longing, and celebration—gently poking fun at the quirks and idiosyncrasies that make us human.

William Carlson

Carlson is a nationally recognized sculptor and educator whose work has significantly influenced the contemporary art glass movement. He has received numerous honors, including a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the Smithsonian Institution’s Distinguished Craft Education Award. Carlson’s work has been widely exhibited and is held in both private and public collections across the U.S. and internationally.

Erika Crofut

Crofut is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Great Barrington, MA. Her work draws from folk traditions, storytelling, and the rhythms of everyday life, transforming ordinary materials and moments into reflective, functional art. She works across sculpture, ceramics, assemblage, and furniture-making—often incorporating recycled and found objects to create pieces designed to live within the home.

Barbara Fletcher

Fletcher received her BFA from Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts. Based in Lowell, MA, her award-winning work is included in many collections around the country and has been shown in juried gallery shows and museums including The Duxbury Art Complex and The Fuller Craft Museum. Focusing on the chaos, mystery, and whimsey in nature, Fletcher incorporates both hard and soft materials in her mixed media art.

Andy Gingras

At age eleven, Gingras won a first-place prize in art for a piece titled Metal Butterfly. Later in life, he built a home of his own design in Westchester County, New York, and worked as a heavy equipment operator, gallery owner, big rig driver, and goat cheese farmer. A fan of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, he now builds and designs in metal and wood.

Harold Grinspoon

Grinspoon began his sculpture practice in his 80s, after stepping back from his business and philanthropic work. Inspired by nature and a lifelong habit of collecting unique natural forms, his first sculpture emerged from a fallen tree in his Longmeadow, MA yard—a 30-foot-tall piece that marked the start of a prolific creative chapter. Working from his Agawam studio, Grinspoon has since created hundreds of works, evolving from wood to materials like decommissioned machinery, glass buoys, telephone poles, and discarded bicycles—finding beauty and possibility in the unexpected.

Erik Johnsen

Based in Saratoga Springs, NY, Johnsen creates bold, reflective sculptures designed to engage the senses—inviting viewers to touch, explore, and interact. Inspired by personal experiences, including temporary blindness, his work promotes accessibility and connection. Known for pieces like Galaxy Cat and The Little Mermaid, Johnsen blends fine art, public installation, and theatrical design to transform everyday spaces into immersive, inclusive art environments. His “Museum Beyond Walls” initiative brings hands-on art experiences to underserved communities, embodying his mission to make art a universal language. 

Stephen Klema

Klema is a sculptor and designer who works with vector software, wood, and a variety of saws. He received his MFA from the Hartford Art School and his BFA from the Atlanta College of Art. His whimsical, metaphorical, representational, and abstract objects reflect a strong emphasis on craft and the labor of making. His work has appeared in juried exhibitions nationwide and in permanent collections in several states.

Robert Markey

Working across mediums, Markey is known for socially engaged public artworks, including mosaic murals and sculpture. His international projects often engage youth and marginalized communities in collaborative creation. Markey’s work highlights resilience and beauty, from murals painted with refugees to sculptures that embody global narratives.

Brian McQuillan

McQuillan creates captivating metal artworks that merge industrial components like antique toys, nuts, bolts, and automotive parts into whimsical, intricate sculptures. His work invites viewers to search for hidden elements, often resulting in joyful discovery and fascination.

Pedro S. de Movellan

A master of kinetic sculpture, Movellan draws inspiration from the natural world and the tension between abstraction and reality. His works—elegant, geometric, and always in motion—invite viewers to pause and engage with their rhythmic, almost meditative movements. Movellan sees motion as a poetic medium, creating art that sparks wonder and inquiry in a fast-paced digital world.

Chris Plaisted

For nearly a decade, Plaisted has created monumental sculptures that juxtapose steel, copper, wood, concrete, and other metals. Influenced by people, places, bridges, ships, architecture, and mythological themes, his primarily abstract works often incorporate figurative elements exploring conflict. Exhibited in galleries and shows across the U.S., Plaisted is also a skilled graphic designer. He lives in New Milford, CT with his wife, two children, and Leonidas the dragon.

Stephanie Wenzel 

Wenzel is a multimedia sculptor whose work explores transformation, material storytelling, and large-scale expression. After a career in graphic and product design in New York City—where she founded the studio and brand SWIGG—she turned to sculpture during the pandemic, finding creative renewal through personal loss and change. Wenzel’s work has been exhibited at the Rockaway Art Alliance’s Portal Rockaway, the Cambridge Art Association’s BLUE 2023 (Juror’s Choice Award), and Vermont’s Artful Ice Shanties (Most Creative Award). She has been featured in New Visionary Magazine and the Winter Hoopla outdoor art series. Wenzel lives and works between Brooklyn, NY and Shelburne, MA.

All sculptures are displayed across the Norman Rockwell Museum’s scenic grounds, which are free and open to the public during Museum hours. Many of the artworks are available for purchase.