Stone Quarry Hill Art Park

Exploring the relationship between art and nature

Kate Hill

The Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (SQHAP) provides visitors with a space to explore and appreciate the natural world and interact with art and artists amidst 104 acres of conserved land and groomed trails. Inspired by the relationship between art and nature, SQHAP also offers a unique environment for emerging and established artists to create and exhibit their work in outdoor and gallery settings.

“The Art Park is a diverse pallet of forest, meadow, agricultural fields, ponds, and hedgerows, protected by a conservation easement with Cazenovia Preservation Foundation and New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation,” said SQHAP CEO Emily Zaengle. “Artists shape and reshape this landscape, [so] unlike many sculpture parks or museums, every time you visit there is something new or different to experience. As we all seek adventure in our lives, the Art Park offers an unstructured experience. Visitors are invited to explore, find their own paths through the landscape, and reconnect to their creative and playful being.”

Founded in in 1991 by ceramicist, sculptor, author, and preservation activist Dorothy Riester (1916-2017) and her husband, Robert, SQHAP is a non-profit organization that seeks to educate and engage the public and the landscape through exhibitions, workshops, tours, and community outreach programs in the arts.

“When Dorothy and Robert Riester created Stone Quarry Hill Art Park, their goal was to provide public access to the land,

including making the land available for artistic creation and engagement,” said Zaengle. “Thirty years later, [the park], funded primarily through the contributions of donors, private foundations, and site rental fees, continues to be open to the public every day of the year at no cost to the visitor.”

SQHAP is governed by a board of directors and staffed by Zaengle, Artistic Director Sayward Schoonmaker, Hilltop House and Studio Director Sarah Tietje-Mietz, and Landscape Manager Eric Jerabek. Similar to other contemporary art institutions, SQHAP funds artistic experimentation, iterative creation, research and the production of site-specific works through its Artist in Residence Program.

According to Zaengle, the organization supports visiting artists with stipends, lodging, and studio space, and it connects the public with the artistic process through “artist-led happenings” and outreach programs.

Throughout the years, over 200 visiting artists — from Central New York and around the world — have worked at the park. SQHAP is currently working with six visiting artists: Dr. Juhanna Rogers, Annie Mitchell, Jessica Hyatt, Firat Erdim, Paula Matthusen, and Zoe Boucher. Examples of their work are available on the SQHAP Instagram and website. The park will host guided tours of Rogers’ work on September 11, 12, 18 and 19.

“These are incredibly talented and prestigious artists that people should know and follow, and we are so honored to have them [here] this summer,” said Zaengle. “We also create opportunities for past artists to return to the Art Park to reimagine their existing works on site.”

Recently, John Fitzsimmons returned to the park to transform the exterior of “Quiet Eyes” from glass and acrylic paint to a mirrored surface. The new work, retitled “The Island,” can be viewed in the Secret Garden.

SQHAP displays many of Riester’s sculptures, mixed in with rotating sculptures from its artists-in-residence and collections from around the world.

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“Current sculptures at the park are considered temporary works and can rotate or change based on visiting artists’ engagement,” said Zaengle. “This allows artists to retain ownership of their works, collaborate, or add to existing work, and demonstrate environmental relationship to materials. A few sculptures on site are more permanent; they are on loan from Colgate University.”

According to Zaengle, SQHAP also loans its works to other organizations. Recently, the park worked on a short-term loan with the City of Syracuse, transporting Miriam Nelson’s “Whale’s Tale” from its home at Stone Quarry Hill to the city’s downtown. Sculptures are also on loan to the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum, the Village of Cazenovia, Cazenovia Preservation Foundation, and Xavier Woods.

SQHAP also stewards Hilltop House and Studio, a unique site designed and built by the Riesters from the late 1950s to the early 1970s with help from local contractors.

In 2014, the building — along with the original 23-acre property — was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance as a highly intact example of a mid-twentieth century modern house and artist studio. The site is also part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Artists' Homes and Studios program, a coalition of over 40 museums that were the homes and working studios of American artists.

“It epitomizes a life lived in art, and demonstrates Dorothy’s practice of relating art and nature in all of her work, including in her home and studio,” said Zaengle. “ . . . The Hilltop House, like the landscape of the Art Park, is open to visiting artists to explore and engage. Students from Syracuse University’s Museum Studies program are currently cataloging and digitizing Dorothy’s works, photographs, sketches, and writings, so artists and the public will have access to these items.”

SQHAP currently provides public access to the home and the Riester Archives through guided tours, exhibitions, and programs.

The tours, which emphasize the permeability between indoor and outdoor environs, are held on Fridays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., June through September 2021. Advanced purchase of tickets is required ($10 members/ $15 non-members).

SQHAP grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk with a suggested donation of $5 per person. SWM

To learn more about Hilltop House, visit sqhap.org/hilltophouse or follow “Hilltop House and Studio” on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For more information on SQHAP, visit sqhap.org. Stone Quarry Hill Art Park is located at 3883 Stone Quarry Road, Cazenovia. Submitted photos Located in the Town of Cazenovia, Stone Quarry Hill Art Park (SQHAP)

is an outdoor sculpture park that provides visitors with an opportunity to explore and appreciate the natural world and interact with art and artists amidst 104 acres of conserved land and groomed trails. The park also offers a unique environment for emerging and established artists to create and exhibit their work in natural and gallery settings.