'Cloud Kicker' Sculpture Marks Bridgehampton Child Care And Recreation Center

On the grounds of the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center, there now sits a metallic contraption shimmering in the sun. Standing 10 feet tall, the structure seems out of place amid the green grass, a log fence and a wooden administration building.

But it has a definite purpose—and a distinctive history.

The sculpture, titled “Cloud Kicker,” was last on display at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. It was loaned to the center on Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike by Sagaponack-based artist Hans Van de Bovenkamp through the Louis K. Meisel Gallery in Manhattan, which represents the artist.

It may resemble a blooming flower, but Mr. Van de Bovenkamp said he had something else in mind when he began designing the stainless steel figure in June 2005. “It reminded me of specific clouds,” the artist said last week during a telephone interview. “Clouds are always amazing.”

Just a few weeks ago, the artist brought “Cloud Kicker” to the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center and plans to leave it there for at least a year. The sculpture directs more attention to the grounds, he said, making the facility more noticeable among the community’s fixtures, such as the Bridgehampton Senior Center and the Children’s Museum of the East End.

“I think it gives them more presence,” Mr. Van de Bovenkamp said of the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreation Center. “Now people say, ‘Oh, the center, it has that funny-looking sculpture.’ It gives them some visibility.”

Mr. Van de Bovenkamp constructed “Cloud Kicker” on his farm on Merchants Path, off Sagg Road, in Sagaponack. The piece is composed of curvy, twisting beams and spherical bunches of stainless steel, giving it a whimsical appearance that is fitting for a center dedicated to children, according to its executive director, Michelle Cannon.

A sculpture with the name “Cloud Kicker” helps emphasize the message and mission of the center, she explained, which is to allow children to expand their imaginations and believe that anything is possible. “When I think about clouds, I think of imagining things and dreaming. How appropriate,” she said last week. “The center is indeed a place where we encourage the kids to dream, to imagine and to know they can be whatever they want to be.”

Mr. Van de Bovenkamp was born in Garderen, Holland, in 1938 and studied sculpture at the University of Michigan after a stint as an architect. He has designed dozens of pieces from all different materials, each with its own specific inspiration. The sculptor said art is not just a passion but a way to cleanse oneself.

“Art is very healing. There’s no purpose except for healing,” he said. “The sculpture is a single statement.”