Josephine F. Ford Sculpture Garden at the College for Creative Studies
Updated Jul 20, 2022
In 2005, The Detroit Institute of Arts partnered with the College for Creative Studies to create the Josephine F. Ford Sculpture Garden, located on John R at Kirby Street. The works in the sculpture garden are from the DIA’s collection, on loan to CCS.
A spectacular display of 20th-century sculpture, the two-acre site comprises 12 sculptures from the DIA’s permanent collection and was the city’s first sculpture garden open to the public. The completion of the garden was made possible by a generous gift from Honorary Trustee and longtime CCS supporter, the late Josephine F. Ford, and was designed by Grissim Metz Andriese Associates.
In 2018, Bowl with Folds, a monumental cedar sculpture by the artist Ursula von Rydingsvard, was installed in the garden. DIA supporters Janis B. and William M. Wetsman generously donated the sculpture to the museum, and it remains on long-term loan to CCS. The massive (12 ft. x 16 ft. x 16 ft.) Bowl with Folds has numerous column-like round forms with a hollow interior that is not visible. It is characteristic of von Rydingsvard’s abstract pieces that often evoke common objects and human-like figures and functional objects.
Arial view of College for Creative Studies' Josephine F. Ford sculpture garden and main campus
In 2005, The Detroit Institute of Arts partnered with the College for Creative Studies to create the Josephine F. Ford Sculpture Garden, located on John R at Kirby Street. The works in the sculpture garden are from the DIA’s collection, on loan to CCS.
A spectacular display of 20th-century sculpture, the two-acre site comprises 12 sculptures from the DIA’s permanent collection and was the city’s first sculpture garden open to the public. The completion of the garden was made possible by a generous gift from Honorary Trustee and longtime CCS supporter, the late Josephine F. Ford, and was designed by Grissim Metz Andriese Associates.
In 2018, Bowl with Folds, a monumental cedar sculpture by the artist Ursula von Rydingsvard, was installed in the garden. DIA supporters Janis B. and William M. Wetsman generously donated the sculpture to the museum, and it remains on long-term loan to CCS. The massive (12 ft. x 16 ft. x 16 ft.) Bowl with Folds has numerous column-like round forms with a hollow interior that is not visible. It is characteristic of von Rydingsvard’s abstract pieces that often evoke common objects and human-like figures and functional objects.
