Photos by Bill Delano

On Beauty: A Talk and Open Discussion with Artist Bruce M. Sherman

Saturday September 27, 2025, at 1 pm

The Arts Center at Duck Creek and exhibiting artist Bruce M. Sherman invite the public to an open discussion on the topic of Beauty. Presented in conjunction with Sherman’s exhibition Bonsai and Spirit Rocks (on view in the Little Gallery through September 28, 2025), the program will explore philosophical, spiritual, and everyday dimensions of beauty.

Sherman will share reflections rooted in his early involvement with the Society for Experimental Studies and the teachings of philosophers including D.T. Suzuki, William Segal, and Soetsu Yanagi, author of The Beauty of Everyday Things. Drawing from these traditions, Sherman will invite participants to consider beauty not only as an outward quality but also as an inward experience of attention, humility, and presence. The discussion will further explore how beauty manifests in the everyday, connects us to the natural world, and endures through objects shaped by care and time.

Visitors are warmly encouraged to join and contribute to the conversation.

The Arts Center at Duck Creek is pleased to present Bruce Sherman: Bonsai and Spirit Rocks on view in the Little Gallery from August 16 to September 28, 2025. A public reception will be held on Saturday, August 16, from 5–7 PM.

This site-specific ceramic installation explores the contemplative intersections of nature, spirituality, and transformation. The exhibition marks a continuation of Sherman’s evocative investigations into form, symbol, and the metaphysical. 

Sherman reimagines the traditional forms of bonsai trees and sui-seki (Japanese “spirit rocks”)—objects revered for their meditative and philosophical resonance—as vessels for ceramic and glaze experimentation. Rendered in richly textured stoneware, these objects shift from natural specimen to artifact to contemporary artwork. In Japanese and Buddhist traditions, bonsai embody patience, discipline, and transience; sui-seki evoke entire landscapes in a single stone. By recreating these forms in ceramic, Sherman both preserves and transforms them—bridging ancient wisdom with modern materiality.

The works speak to the “aliveness” of the natural world, drawing the viewer from contemplation of Duck Creek’s serene, wooded grounds into the quiet, reverent space of the gallery. Just as the property encourages visitors to slow down and observe the subtleties of light, land, and growth, Sherman’s sculptures invite inward reflection—merging the spiritual landscape outside with the symbolic interior world of the exhibition.

Bonsai and Spirit Rocks continues Sherman’s practice of blending the personal, spiritual, and mythological. His figures are imbued with a subtle poetic logic and an encoded visual language that reflects a deep respect for nature and the human impulse to make meaning from form.

Bruce M. Sherman lives and works in New York. His work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions at White Columns (New York), Kaufmann Repetto (Milan), South Willard (Los Angeles), and Sorry We’re Closed (Brussels). He has participated in group exhibitions at Marianne Boesky Gallery, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Thomas Duncan Gallery, and Museo Regional Michoacano, among others.