Most people who find their way to Mill Brook Gallery and Sculpture Garden don’t just stumble across it.
Sure, we all know about it, but the out-of-towners aren’t likely to cross its path. It’s about as far from downtown as you can get, and it’s next to pretty much nothing.
With that being said, a simple Google search for Concord NH art galleries will give you an address – along with some of the other places in town to find some great art.
If you’re a fan of art (which most people who use Google to find local art galleries are), chances are you’re going to check it out.
“You never know who’s going to stop in,” said owner Pam Tarbell. “It becomes a destination.”
As you head down the long driveway at 236 Hopkinton Road (which doubles as Tarbell’s home), large outdoor pieces of art will enter your field of vision. And that’s what makes Mill Brook unique.
As you wander around the outdoor sculpture collection – which is now in its 20th season and surrounded by luscious gardens and a pond, as well as horses, geese and ducks – there’s a lot to take in.
Off the bat, you see a giant yellow circle made out of painted aluminum by Rob Lorenson. Then there’s the wooly mammoth, the giant monkeys hanging from a tree and a gryphon.
“They’re all good in different ways,” Tarbell said. “I like to have a variety.”
There’s not one, but two face sculptures – one made out of bronze resin that features two people and the other is two large stainless steel faces that move on a track. The pieces are made out of steel, marble, glass – just about any material you can think of.
“Sometimes you need a crane to put the stuff where it’s going,” Tarbell said.
The sculpture exhibit is a mixture of new pieces (there are about 20 this year) and favorites from years past – as well as some that just haven’t been picked up by artists over the years.
“I like pieces that make people think and challenge you,” Tarbell said.
Two decades ago, when Tarbell first created the sculpture garden with no more than a handful of pieces, it was done more as a community service.
She had been teaching local kids about art, and when she asked them about what sculpture art they’ve seen, one mentioned the statues in front of the State House. Sure, they’re nice and well-crafted, but not really the kind of art Tarbell was thinking of.
“That was the defining moment,” Tarbell said.
So she got the idea for the exhibit, and after some meetings with the city, she was able to open the indoor gallery, which actually happened one year prior to the sculpture garden.
“Concord had so little art and Concord needed a lot more art,” Tarbell said.
The likes of John Weidman, Liz Fletcher and Andy Moerlein have been mainstays in the show, while Joseph Gray, Lindley and Jeffrey Briggs, Antoinette Schultze and Michael Alfano have turned the exhibit into a can’t-miss for the summer.
“A lot of them are internationally and nationally shown artists,” Tarbell said.
The gallery is open Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment. The outdoor exhibit will run until mid-October.
And the pieces are for sale.
“If you like it, you can take it,” Tarbell said. “But you have to pay for it.”
For more, visit themillbrookgallery.com or find it on Facebook.
