Skip to content
TRAFFIC DISRUPTION MARCH 24: the Around the Bay Race route will result in closed lanes along Plains Road W. and York Boulevard. Expect traffic delays and plan accordingly. Details at bayrace.com

International Sculpture Collection

The Dan Lawrie International Sculpture Collection

In 2013 Dan Lawrie, Hamilton businessman and Burlington resident, made a 10-year commitment to donating sculptures to Royal Botanical Gardens which has created The International Sculpture Collection.

Through Dan’s generosity, this permanent collection grows in Hendrie Park each year, with the addition of new works from around the world.

DLISC Logo
  • kids looking at school of fish sculpture
  • Rejoicing Family sculpture with the Rose Garden in the background
  • Group taking a tour, lookingat Bloodroot Sculpture
  • Hearing The Song Sculpture Marianne Reim
  • In The Presence Of Sakra Sculpture Peter Killeen

Left to right: School of Fish (Kakkee Negeoseak), Rejoicing Family (Taurai Mutigwa), Bloodroot (Karl Unnasch), Kinetic Symmetry (Ivan Black), Hearing the Song (Marianne Reim), In the Presence of Sakra (Peter Killeen)

About the Sculptures & Artists

The Dan Lawrie International Sculpture Collection can be found throughout Hendrie Park, accessible via RBG Centre at 680 Plains Road W. Burlington.

Aquagraphie Sculpture Philippe Pallafray

Aquagraphie Variation 2

Artist: Philippe Pallafray
Canada; installed in 2018

Inspired by the graphic design of river maps, Aquagraphie Variation 2 charts a course of movement and reflection in steel within the natural environment. The jigsaw parts of the powder coated sculpture are reflected in the polished steel puddles at its base.

Philippe Pallafray; Quebec, Canada

Philippe Pallafray (b. France) is a member of the Sculptors Society of Canada and the Conseil des métiers d’art du Québec. The Québec-based artist integrates polished stainless steel with mixed media to create provocative indoor and outdoor sculptures. Pallafray’s work is held in private and public collections in North America and France.

Bloodroot sculpture, lit up in the evening against a sunset sky

Bloodroot

Artist: Karl Unnasch
USA; installed in 2016

Inspired by Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot), this installment represents one of the first woodland plants to greet spring as it contrasts its unique structure with the more innocuous plants surrounding it.

“The bloodroot holds a special place in my heart as my first acquaintance with visual language. My earliest memory is when my mother snapped off a bloodroot leaf in spring from her flower bed and showed me how to make my first marks with its orange sap on my forearm.”

Karl Unnasch; Minnesota, USA

Karl Unnasch focuses primarily on creating public and architectural art, incorporating stained glass and sculpture into his work. Nestled close to his farmstead roots in Southeastern Minnesota, he finds nostalgic respite in giving aesthetic kudos to overlooked objects and concepts inherently personal to his rural experiences. His smaller-scale work has been exhibited as far as Europe and acclaimed in publications as esteemed as the New York Times and Art in London Magazine. His larger-scale, award-winning public art has been featured on prominent national and even international media including NBC’s ‘Today’ show and Voice of America.

echo of rain sculpture

The Echo of Rain

Artist: Flandez Hernandez
Cuba; installed in 2022

The swirling lines of the sculpture evoke ideas of change and rebirth. The sculpture can be seen as many different living things in nature: a butterfly unfurling its wings or a flower opening its petals.

“My work translates into experience accumulated by my path through different disciplines related to art. I am in love with dance, music, and architecture. My sculptures are marked by the monumental character that they hold, as a trait that defines and identifies it.”

Flandez Hernandez; Cuba

Flandez started his career becoming a pioneer of his time at the Adult Amateur School “Wilfredo Lam” in Matanzas, Cuba at the age of nine. In 1985, Flandez graduated from the (ENA) National School of Arts of Havana. Throughout his career, Flandez has mastered his skills working with a diversity of materials and techniques. His work is enthusiastic and engaging, motivated by everything that surrounds him ranging from the figurative to the abstract.

Family Tree sculpture displayed in Hinton Court courtyard at RBG Centre

Family Tree

Artist: Chaka Chikodzi
Canada; installed in 2023

Generations Sculpture Edwin Veronica Dam De Nogales S

Generations

Artists: Edwin and Veronica Dam de Nogales
Canada / Spain; installed in 2014 (parts 2 and 3 installed in 2015)

This three-part sculpture explores the connections of family.

“Generations examines families by playing with similarities and separations, proximities and distances, and geometries and natural forms. It draws upon the viewer to complete the work by putting themselves within it. The expressions hint at a hope for a bright future.”

Edwin and Veronica Dam de Nogales; Highgate, Ontario, Canada and Montornes del Valles, Barcelona, Spain

Veronica de Nogales Leprevost, born in Barcelona, Spain in 1970, and Edwin Timothy Dam, born in Hamilton, Ontario in the same year, did not meet until an exhibition in 1997 with the Generalitat de Barcelona. Their works draw on an intense curiosity for nature, for life and for sculpting the relation of man within it. Veronica draws from a passion for dance and music, and Edwin draws from a passion for architecture and poetry. The result has been a unique fusion of styles based on a singular aesthetic vision. Their unique style has resulted in over 25 public sculptures, monuments and urban designs in North America and Europe over the last decade. All works are co-signed under the unified name Dam de Nogales.

Haven Sculpture Catherine Lavelle

Haven

Artist: Catherine Lavelle (designed in collaboration with Douglas Senft)
Canada; installed in 2014

Haven is a large nest. Lavelle uses her art to speak to the changing nature of animal habitats in a city landscape.

“Haven refers to survival and adaptability in natural and urban environments. It represents all nesting creatures as well as our human attachment to home and place.

Catherine Lavelle and Douglas Senft; Courtenay, British Columbia

Catherine Lavelle lives and works in Courtenay BC. Her career and life experiences include management and facilitation of group learning as well as teaching physical disciplines. Her lifelong interest in the arts led her to study at Simon Fraser University and Emily Carr University in the 1980s, completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Emily Carr University in 2011. She started working collaboratively with Douglas Senft in 2008 on public art projects and studio work.

Douglas Senft (1950–2012) practiced sculpture since 1972, when he graduated with honours from the Vancouver School of Art. He has had numerous public commissions in Canada, the United States and Europe, as well as exhibiting his work in both public and private galleries. He is the recipient of several Canada Council grants, and his work is found in many private and public collections.

Hearing The Song Sculpture Marianne Reim

Hearing the Song

Artist: Marianne Reim
Canada; installed in 2018

Hearing the Song uses the most inflexible of materials, stone. Drill marks are placed in such a way that the split stone has two surfaces with identical rows of musical staffs.

“These mirror images, side by side, are divided by a negative space. The negative space is not absence, but rather the presence of potentiality. Each viewer/seeker, who comes to this work can bring their own song and can honour what they hear.”

Marianne Reim; Ontario, Canada

Born in Germany, Marianne Reim has lived in Canada since 1967. She received her degree in Art and Art History from McMaster University, Hamilton. She has been exhibiting in 14 Countries on 4 continents and received numerous Awards and Grants. Her work can be found in private collections, Government of Ontario Art Collection Archives of Ontario, public collections of Art Galleries and Sculpture parks.

Hour Glass Sculpture Ted Fullerton

(H)our Glass

Artist: Ted Fullerton
Canada; installed in 2017

The hourglass is often depicted as a symbol of human existence and of time itself. The “H” in parentheses within this sculpture’s name allows us to take ownership of this as being “our” reality.

The conceptual premise for the sculpture, (H)our Glass is based on an associative symbol, X. The term, “X marks the spot” is a common reference, a place of “being.” Because of its symmetrical nature, an hourglass is suggested where “being” exists between the past and the future.

Ted Fullerton; Tottenham Ontario

Ted Fullerton was born in Ottawa in 1953. He works in painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture and has achieved awards in all four media. As a figurative artist his work is symbolic in nature. The conceptual foundation and ideology within his artistic practice is humanist emphasizing the notion of belief, purpose and relationships: being and becoming. His work is exhibited nationally and internationally and is represented in numerous private and public collections.

In The Presence Of Sakra Sculpture Peter Killeen

In the Presence of Sakra

Artist: Peter Killeen
Ireland; installed in 2018

The Jataka, which means ‘birth’ in Sanskrit, are short tales or episodes that tell of a former incarnation of the pre-enlightenment Buddha. They have the quality of fables through which some moral example is demonstrated. Typically, the Bodhisattva appears reborn, usually in the form of an animal.

Peter Killeen; Dublin, Ireland

Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1977, Peter began his career working with the highly regarded CAST bronze foundry. Killeen’s experience of working in foundries in Ireland and Australia is evident in the execution of his art. Careful consideration and skill are required to finish each piece and an expert understanding of the Cire Perdue (lost wax) method of bronze casting is essential to producing each bronze.

Jardin Sculpture Lizbet Fernandez Ramos

Jardín

Artist: Lisbet Fernandez Ramos
Spain; installed in 2016

Jardín displays five figures of children to represent our differences as individuals within a group.

“The use of images of childhood is purely symbolic — a recreation of games, attitudes or situations taken out of context, in which the simple, spontaneous and sincere world of the child is projected upon the most complex human relations. These are parables of childhood that elicit in us curiosity and nostalgia as we read in them our own experiences.”

Lisbet Fernandez Ramos; Canary Islands, Spain

Lisbet Fernández Ramos was born in Camagüey, Cuba in 1974. She now lives and works in Canary Islands, Spain. Lisbet trained at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts and The Professional School of the Arts in Cuba with a specialty in sculpture. She has participated in national and international exhibition in Spain, Cuba, Germany and Mexico. Jardin is her first work in Canada.

Four pinwheel-like kinetic sculptures installed in Hendrie Park

Kinetic Symmetry

Artist: Ivan Black
England; installed in 2020

This kinetic installation incorporates both art and invention. Once energized by wind, the sculptures create shifting patterns of motion from random to highly organized.

“I take inspiration from the world around me and the delicate balance of order and chaos, where a few simple rules create a tangible reality out of a vast sea of information. I’m fascinated by the mathematics that govern the natural world. In my own process, I often apply simple algorithms to geometric forms to generate my designs.”

Ivan Black, England.

Ivan Black is an award-winning British sculptor. Born in London in 1972 to a British father and Canadian mother, he began making sculptures at an early age and movement quickly became central to his work. Ivan uses his own unique methodology to create geometric forms that mutate upon the introduction of energy.

On The Wings Of Love Bob Jo Wilfong

On the Wings of Love

Artist: Bob and Jo Wilfong
USA; installed in 2014

On the Wings of Love explores themes of love and human connection. The simple stylized forms are designed to connect with each viewer’s personal experience.

“I’m drawn to images created from the soul, images that are within each of us, and images that express who and what we are. Bronze is currently my medium of choice as it expresses power, beauty and grace. Working with chemicals, acids and heat adds colour, and allows the sculpture to come alive.”

Bob and Jo Wilfong; Clarkston, Washington, USA

Bob Wilfong is a self-taught artist, using his education in biology and anatomy to inform his sculptures. Bob began his sculpting career in 1993, when he couldn’t find a bronze penguin for his wife Jo Wilfong’s collection and began sculpting wildlife. In 1998, Bob moved on to creating contemporary figurative and abstract designs. Bob and Jo Wilfong work collaboratively, with Bob sculpting and Jo managing graphic design, photography, and administration.

Bob Wilfong has created 40 traditional, 120 contemporary and 25 monumental designs. His bronzes are in 48 states and in 7 foreign countries. In addition, there have been 96 corporate, public and private monument placements in the United States, Australia, and Mexico.

overture, steel sculpture resembling a treble clef

Overture

Artist: Jeremy Guy
England; installed in 2021

The smooth, swirling lines of this sculpture resemble the shape of a treble clef, connecting to the musical theme of the piece. The title refers to the orchestral introduction to a musical production.

“Nature creates great design, like the shaping of a beach pebble through years of erosion, or the myriad forms found in biology. The artwork conveys a sense of balance and peace as a way to seek stability in the complexity of our world.”

Jeremy Guy; England

Jeremy Guy grew up in England where natural inspiration has come from the work of British modern sculptors Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. Guy completed a degree in Product Design (2001) at Leeds Metropolitan University and emigrated to Canada in 2007. Guy’s stone and engineered stone sculptures can be found in public spaces and private collections worldwide.

Pollinizers Sculpture Dave Hind

Pollinizers

Artist: Dave Hind
Canada; installed in 2014

This installation focuses on the importance of pollination. Royal Botanical Gardens supports pollinators by protecting the plant species and habitats that sustain them. The designs on the arms reflect some of these species.

“Pollinizers depicts two hands manually pollinating a fruit blossom. This symbolizes the role RBG has as a steward of the land, serving as a metaphor for the organization’s environmental philosophies. The entire work has been coated in beeswax, a most amazing all natural metal polish and protector.”

Dave Hind; Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Dave Hind is an artist, musician and metalworker of functional objects. He was born in Hamilton and now lives in Brantford Ontario. His artistic practice is grounded in the reclamation of materials. The interaction of the industrial and natural recur in the materials, processes, and images that he uses and explores.

Rejoicing Family Sculpture Taurai Mutigwa

Rejoicing Family

Artist: Taurai Mutigwa
Zimbabwe; installed in 2013

Rejoicing Family shows people embraced together. The sculpture weaves into itself to represent how everything is connected.

“I enjoy carving family abstracts to express the love I feel for my family. I draw inspiration from the surrounding world, especially vegetation, when creating my stone sculptures.”

Taurai Mutigwa; Nyanga, Zimbabwe, Africa

Taurai Mutigwa was born in 1973 in Nyanga Nyatate Village, Zimbabwe and started sculpting in 1994. Mentored for two years by the great Nyanga artist, Agripa Ndongwe, his sculptures are now found in many galleries around the world.

Mutigwa is a member of ZimSculpt, a non-political company based in Harare, Zimbabwe that represents over 100 sculptors from across the country. Mining the richness of Zimbabwe’s geology, ZimSculpt artists create powerful works of art depicting stories of the natural world and the culture and traditions of their homeland. By holding exhibitions around the world, ZimSculpt promotes the work of some of the finest contemporary Zimbabwean sculptors.

reverie sculpture, two blue T shaped beams. Two small fairy figures stand on the edge facing eachother

Reverie

Artist: P. Roch Smith
Canada; installed in 2021

“The image of a mirrored figure came to me in a daydream: two figures appearing face to face in an improbable situation and on an improbable scale. The fantastical notion of being able to sprout wings and fly away has a certain appeal.”

P. Roch Smith; Canada

Roch Smith currently lives and maintains a studio in Toronto. His work explores scale, notions of work and play, and memory. Smith received a BFA (Honours Sculpture) from Emily Carr University (1997) and an MFA from York University (2003). Smith has exhibited throughout North America and his work is included in collections in Canada, the US, and Europe.

School Of Fish Sculpture Kakkee Negeoseak

School of Fish

Artist: Kakkee Negeoseak
Canada; installed in 2019

This monumental work began as a modest twelve-inch carving crafted from serpentinite stone, however through the wonder of 3D scanning finds its final form as a bronze sculpture. In School of Fish, we see a symbolic connection to water, as well as an aesthetic harmony with the dignity of the space at the centre of the Rose Garden. This sculpture is a permanent acknowledgement of the 2019 UNESCO Year of Indigenous Languages.

Kakkee Negeoseak; Nunavut, Canada

Kakkee Negeoseak was born April 7, 1973 in Iqaluit but moved to Cape Dorset in 1993. He began carving at the age of 16 and although he is self-taught, he also learned by watching other carvers. His father, Ningeosiak Peter, and his mother, Parnee Peter are both sculptors in Cape Dorset. Kakkee’s grandfather, the late Jamasie Teevee was a well-known graphic artist. He has exhibited in Canada, the United States and Germany.

The Scope Of Change Sculpture Barbra Amos

The Scope of Change

Artist: Barbara Amos
Canada; installed in 2014

The Scope of Change invites the visitor to look through its lens which breaks apart the scene. It is up to the viewer to put it back together.

“As a child I had a kaleidoscope collection. Since fragmentation is a key theme in my artwork, I experimented to create a freestanding scope that could travel. This work is a whimsical moment but also a visual metaphor about the pace of change in our world.”

Barbara Amos; Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Barbara Amos’ work involves a variety of materials including paint, steel, textiles, video and photography. Her works encourage questions and conversation about our role in the world and the changes that will make it a better place. Fragmentation is a recurring theme in her artworks, as well as environmental and cultural issues which have been the current focus.

Amos’ drawing and painting skills have culminated in a 20-year exhibition record across North America and she has completed public art commissions in Calgary and Edmonton. Her work has been shown at Art Toronto (Toronto International Art Fair) and can be found in many collections such as Fairmont Hotels, Deloitte, RBC Dominion Securities, Esso Resources, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the US Library of Congress.

Snowball vase sculpture displayed near the reflecting pool in Hendrie Park

Snowball

Artist: Joon Hee Kim
Canada; installed in 2023

Whispering Stones sculpture displayed amongst the Rose Garden in Hendrie Park

Whispering Stones

Artist: Kees Ouwens
Canada; installed in 2023

More Art in the Gardens

Art brings beauty into our gardens, adds a human element, tells a story, and creates dialogue. Discover the abundance of art installations that grace our garden setting.

Legacy Art

Discover some of the lesser-known art pieces that have found their home at the Gardens throughout its rich history.

Legacy Art

Earth Art

Earth Art installations can be found throughout RBG’s landscape. Also known as ephemeral art, this exciting genre of art has emerged from the contemporary world’s growing environmental consciousness.

Earth Art