“Sfera con perforazione” by Arnaldo Pomodoro at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park of Grand Rapids (Michigan)

From Friday, February 1, 2019, the work Sfera con perforazione (1966) by Arnaldo Pomodoro – part of the Foundation Collection – will be exhibited at the exhibition A National Treasure: Fred Meijer, His Collection and Legacy organized by the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in memory of its founder.

Although never formally educated in visual arts or art history, Fred Meijer was always deeply interested in culture and history, and nurtured a great passion for sculpture. He was particularly drawn to historical and figurative bronze statuary, and began, around the mid-1980s, to form a collection reflecting his interests, which expanded over the years. In August 1999, he expressed his dream of building a world-renowned sculpture collection, thus starting to include works beyond his personal aesthetic tastes, aiming to educate and astonish the public visiting his collection. Today, Fred Meijer's collection is considered one of the finest and richest in the world.

This exhibition, organized on the occasion of Fred Meijer's centenary, tells the story of the collector and his collection, one of the most fascinating chapters in American cultural history..