More than 40 luminous pollinator sculptures are waiting for your visit just 20 minutes away along US30 or SR309, as you can encounter a garden filled with glowing butterflies, bees and other larger-than-life pollinators. At Kingwood Center Gardens in Mansfield, Glass in Flight 2 is presenting more than 40 outdoor sculptures by nationally acclaimed artist Alex Heveri. The exhibition continues through September 7 and is included with general admission.
Art That Changes With the Light
Inspired by the natural world, Heveri’s sculptures celebrate pollinators through vivid combinations of steel and Dalle de verre glass. The technique uses thick, faceted pieces of colored glass that capture and redirect sunlight. As the light changes throughout the day, the sculptures appear to shift in color, intensity and texture.
Placed throughout Kingwood’s gardens, the works become part of the surrounding landscape. Visitors encounter them among flowers, trees and winding paths rather than inside a traditional gallery.
Monarchs Rise Above the Gardens
One of the exhibition’s signature pieces is the Monarch Archway, a returning favorite that has been reimagined on a much larger scale. The installation now rises 15 feet high, with six oversized Monarch butterflies perched on steel-crafted milkweed branches. Milkweed serves as the essential host plant for Monarch caterpillars, tying the sculpture directly to the natural life cycle it celebrates. Several new works by Heveri are also making their first public appearance at Kingwood.
Glass in Flight exhibitions have previously appeared at major destinations across the country, including Tucson Botanical Gardens, Reiman Gardens, Houston Botanic Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden and the San Antonio Zoo.
Three Decades of Steel and Glass
Heveri is a Tucson-based sculptor who has spent more than 30 years creating large-scale steel and glass works. She conceives, designs, cuts, assembles and welds each piece herself, combining technical precision with a close study of insects, plants and the natural world.
“The experience of viewing light through colored and faceted glass is like watching fire,” Heveri said. “Light captivates the viewer like nothing else.”
Her traveling exhibitions have earned national recognition by placing brightly colored artwork in outdoor spaces where sunlight, weather and the surrounding landscape become part of the experience.
Admission and Sculpture Raffle
Glass in Flight 2 is included with regular admission to Kingwood Center Gardens. Admission is free for Kingwood members and children age 6 and younger. Visitors may also enter an online raffle for a chance to win a miniature Glass in Flight sculpture currently displayed in the Garden Gateway Exhibit Gallery.
For Galion residents, the exhibition offers a distinctive summer outing only about 15 minutes from home.