Art Imitates Life In Downtown Metuchen Sculpture Installation

METUCHEN, NJ — In the world of public art, no umbrellas were needed Wednesday by the lifelike sculptures now installed on the streets of downtown Metuchen.

In cooperation with The Seward Johnson Atelier in Hamilton, the borough and the Metuchen Downtown Alliance have now installed five more sculptures by Johnson that can now be found throughout Metuchen, the borough announced.

The works are so realistic, they might take you aback at first glance. So you can prepare yourself with this guide to their locations:

• Monet in the Garden on the future site of Thomas Mundy Peterson Park.
• Sidewalk Concert on the corner of Pearl Street and New Street.
• Skateboarder on Main Street near the Post Office.
• When Now Becomes Then on Main Street outside of the Bowery Art Collective (where Mona Lisa used to be).
• Keep Life in Balance in front of Borough Hall.

These statues follow the installation in June of “Hellp!” on the Plaza and “Forever Marilyn” in front of the Forum Theatre.

One of the statues - Monet in the Garden - is having its debut display in Metuchen, according to the Atelier.

And Keep Life In Balance seems to refer to the quote attributed to famed scientist Albert Einstein, represented on the bicycle, that: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Mayor Jonathan Busch said the borough government has "heard the community’s desire for engaging public art and this relationship with the Atelier has allowed us to join a select number of other communities around the world that feature Johnson’s work."

He added that the partnership has also resulted in other opportunities for Metuchen, including new curricular programming for students in the Metuchen schools.

And Dawn Mackey, executive director of Downtown Metuchen, said the installation will inspire some other public programming in the future weeks. The works are expected to be on view for approximately six months, on loan from the Seward Johnson Atelier. There was a cost associated with transporting the art, she said.

If you can't take a walk in town yet, you can see all the new sculptures on the borough Facebook site.