NASHUA, NH – The theme for the 2025 Nashua International Sculpture Symposium (NISS) was “In the Making.” Throughout the three-week public art event, four international artists, all women, transformed massive blocks of stone into large-scale sculptures. The four works of art will be added to the collection displayed across the city in public spaces. They are now among the 55 sculptures produced during the 18 years of the symposium.
Now that the dust has settled, the tools have been put down and the pieces installed, we had a conversation with NISS’s Creative Director Jim Larson about this year’s class of artists and art.
Larson reflected on the physical challenge of shaping the stone and all the effort put forth by the artists. “I would say they dug in and redefined what it is to make,” Larson said.
“In The Making this year focuses on the craft, the production, the actual development with our hands, and so often artists are not making their own work and not working through ideas with their own hands and it’s a totally different style of work that’s produced when an artist actually makes the piece. And for public art, where 99 percent of people who see it do their own labor, like they clean their own house, they mow their own lawn, for those people, it’s important that the artwork that they see is made by a person who had those ideas.”
Describing the four new additions to the NISS sculpture collection on display in the city, he said, “If you look at the pieces, each has a very different approach. That to me was the most, like, just as a group, it’s like, wow, they’re not even tangential. They really have their very own directions, but pretty determined directions, you know?”
“The one unifying and really, really amazing shared trait is that they’re all of organic shapes. Things that grow. Whether that’s a person, a flower – you name it. Hair, fish, they’re all growing and living.”
The NISS is unique in how it presents the creation of art in a very public way and then in how it presents the work in a very publicly accessible way. Larson offered his insight on the relevance of the project for Nashua.
“The really big deal here is that none of this work is in a museum. There’s no curator, there’s no prep staff, there’s no conservator. All of this work is cared for and preserved, conserved by the people of Nashua, and it’s theirs. It’s all public property, it’s owned by the city,” Larson said.
“At the end of the day, it’s there for the citizens of Nashua to do what they want with it. It’s really clear that the people in this town care so much for this work because it is never, ever defaced. People love it. People take care of it. They clean it. It’s nice to know Nashua respects it,” he said.
“This ties back to the making. When you have something that is crafted, the care of the craftsperson who made it shows. And it suggests that the space where that craft is, where you’ve installed the work, is worth caring for. And by putting all of these carefully crafted sculptures in Nashua, it is suggesting that these public places are worthy of our care,” Larson said.
The Art and Artist Statements
Artist Valerie Funk from Germany created a sculpture called “Carry.” She carved it from Lake Champlain Black Marble, and it is installed at the Tot Lot Playground on Thorton Road.
Her artist statement is: “The sculpture rises like a blossom or a leaf, unfolding into a protective, dynamic surface. Take a seat, have a rest, feel the material. The black, rough stone transforms into a soft, flowing form – a shape that holds you, that carries you.”
Artist Danaë Leblond-Joris from France created a sculpture called “L’Être, An Ambiguous Figure”. She carved it from Danby, Vermont Marble, and it is installed adjacent to Lovewell Pond.
Her artist statement is: “An ambiguous figure, half human, half frog, hands, fingers, and nails strangely gripping the ground, changes themself from one shape to another, from one element to another.
“Human is not only a being of flesh and blood, but also breath and spirit. Furthermore, they hold within them the void.” – F. Cheng
“A void is an essential intimate space – space to grow. Similarly, the open space left by this block of stone taken from the ground. And to this sculpture, made by the open space. This figure gives an invitation to understand the diversity of metamorphosis, so that we can maintain our capacity to change with circumstances.”
Artist Yunmi Lee from South Korea/Italy created a sculpture called “Waiting For Spring.” She carved it from Danby, Vermont, marble, and it is installed in front of the Lake Street Fire Station.
Her artist statement is: “Waiting for Spring captures the quiet anticipation that lingers in the stillness before change. The sculpture holds the breathless moment just before life stirs when everything appears motionless, yet something tender begins to awaken beneath the surface.
From soft, organic curves emerge gentle hints of blossoms and birds, evoking the subtle power of renewal. The flower suggests not only beauty, but the quiet courage it takes to begin again. The bird, poised and weightless, carries a whisper of freedom, signaling movement, transformation, and return.
Together, these forms embody spring as more than a season—it is a state of becoming. In its stillness, the work holds the thrill of expectation, the soft promise of change, and the quiet faith that something new is on its way.”
Artist Casey Schachne from America created a sculpture called “Sailfish Mariposa”. She carved it from West Rutland, Vermont, Mariposa Marble, and it is installed adjacent to the Mine Falls pond boat ramp.
Her artist statement is: ““Sailfish Mariposa” is a stylized rendering of a sailfish made from a cut of Vermont marble known as Mariposa.
This piece explores the paradox of capturing a creature known for its speed and fluidity in the solid, unyielding medium of stone. The sailfish, with its iconic dorsal fin that mimics the contours of a sail, is caught mid-swim. This sculpture invites viewers to consider the tension between motion and monument, sea and stone.”