CLAYTON – The 2025-2026 Clayton Sculpture Trail is now live, featuring 13 striking new sculptures that bring contemporary art to public spaces across the Town. This year’s trail continues Clayton’s commitment to making art accessible, engaging, and thought-provoking for residents and visitors alike.
For over a decade, the Sculpture Trail has transformed streetscapes and parks into an open-air gallery, offering large-scale, contemporary artworks in a natural setting. The latest installations include a diverse mix of kinetic sculptures, abstract designs, and pieces that invite reflection on modern life, history, and human connection.
Clayton Mayor Jody McLeod emphasized the interactive nature of these pieces. “Sculptures become conversation pieces because each time you look at one, you notice something new,” he stated. “That’s the beauty of sculpture. It’s not a one-time ‘get it?’ experience. It’s something you revisit, discovering more with each viewing until it truly clicks.”
Nathan Pierce, one of the featured artists, highlighted the unique ability of public art to inspire. “It has a special way of reaching the largest audience,” he said. “Unlike galleries with business hours or admission fees, anyone – whether it’s a kid on a skateboard at midnight or someone passing by – can experience it. And it can speak to them in ways even I, as an artist, didn’t expect.”
This year’s Sculpture Trail features:
· Open Hand – Joe Coates (Durham, NC) – A striking Corten steel sculpture symbolizing universal welcome, featuring a broken Roman column-inspired base.
· Oh Deer – Joe Coates (Durham, NC) – An abstract representation of a deer in a state of alertness and watchfulness.
· Along the Water’s Edge – Grace Cathey (Waynesville, NC) – A tribute to the wildflowers found along wetlands, designed in the shape of a kayak gliding through water.
· One Spring Day – Grace Cathey (Waynesville, NC) – A vibrant celebration of renewal, hope, and the arrival of spring.
· Everlasting Arms – Beau Lyday (Valdese, NC) – A welcoming embrace in sculptural form, offering a meditative space for connection and reflection.
· Filed Away – Adam Walls (Tryon, NC) – A playful nod to the bygone era of filing cabinets, symbolizing the whirlwind of modern life and office obligations.
· Reflection – Adam Walls (Tryon, NC) – A sculptural bench designed as a place for contemplation, inspired by the idea of homeward callings.
· Alpha and Omega – Paris Alexander (Cary, NC) – A carved limestone piece from the artist’s “Memento Mori” series, reminding us of life’s impermanence and the legacies we leave behind.
· Don’t Forget Us – Nathan Pierce (Cape Girardeau, MO) – A thought-provoking abstraction of communication and technology in the modern world.
· Alegria – Lawrence Feir (Greensboro, NC) – A kinetic stainless-steel sculpture that twirls with the wind, creating mesmerizing patterns of light and movement.
· Comet – Hanna Jubran (Grimesland, NC) – A cosmic-inspired sculpture that explores the idea of comets as the building blocks of life on Earth.
· Allegro – Hanna Jubran (Grimesland, NC) – A dynamic piece inspired by the fluid and expressive movement of a gypsy dancer.
· Novel Idea – Craig Gray (Key West, FL) – A functional granite bench carved into the shape of books, symbolizing knowledge, imagination, and community storytelling.
Adam Walls, another featured artist, reflected on the broader impact of art on people’s lives. “I’m all for sports and other activities, but engaging with art opens up different opportunities to think about other aspects of life, new experiences you might want to have, and what they can teach you,” he stated.
This year’s Sculpture Trail has been designed to offer just those types of opportunities, and Dane Martin, Chair of the Town of Clayton Public Art Advisory Board, expressed excitement for the community’s response. “We’re really looking forward to seeing how much the public likes these new pieces,” he said.
The 2025-2026 Sculpture Trail is free and open year-round, allowing visitors to explore at their own pace.
what do think this fine art cost the taxpayers!!!!!!