Dublin School alumnus L.P. Runyon ‘88’s sculpture “Merge” is now on display outside of the Putnam Art Gallery. Over Family Weekend, we gathered to honor L.P.’s creative work and thank community member Augusta Petrone for her generous patronage of this installation. 

The acquisition of “Merge” is the first step in a much larger effort to create an outdoors sculpture venue at the Dublin School Nordic Center. The establishment of this park has been spearheaded by Nordic Center Director Lisa Bates, who secured a grant from the Putnam Foundation earlier this year. Head of School Brad Bates wrote about this exciting new venture in a recent blog post which you can read about here.

In his remarks, longtime visual arts teacher and Director of the Putnam Gallery Earl Schofield spoke about the elevating effects of living alongside art, framing this sculpture project as a community resource and part of Dublin School’s public purpose. 

“Merge” is an important first step along the way to realizing this purpose. Aside from being an intriguing work in itself, L.P.’s sculpture provides critical momentum for the project. As Schofield puts it, “it’s hard to fundraise without firm foundations to begin from.” L.P’s piece is exactly the foundation needed. Before spring, we expect to have six-sculptures on display at the Nordic Center, showcasing a diverse panel of artists for public enjoyment. “Merge” will be among them.