A cluster of 110 mirrored purple grapes now stands outside the Niagara Pumphouse Arts Centre overlooking the Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
The sculpture, “Vinifera,” was created by Canadian sculptor James Cameron Smith and features 110 polished steel spheres roughly the size of cantaloupes arranged along a vine structure to resemble oversized vinifera grapes.
The Pumphouse said the sculpture project carried a budget of up to $100,000, did not exceed that amount and was fully funded through a donation from Paul-André Bosc, owner of Paul Bosc Estate Vineyard, though the specific amount was not disclosed at his request.
Bosc commissioned the piece in honour of his late parents, Andrée and Paul Bosc Sr., who helped pioneer vinifera grape-growing and build Niagara wine country.
Vinifera grapes were long considered difficult to grow in Ontario’s climate because harsh winters could kill the vines, but growers like Bosc Sr. pushed to prove European grape varieties could survive and produce higher-quality wines in Niagara.
Standing beside the sculpture at Thursday’s unveiling, Bosc spoke about his family’s roots in French Algeria and his parents immigrating to Canada in the 1960s, where his father later founded Château des Charmes after helping pioneer vinifera grape-growing in Niagara and his mother became well known locally as a longtime French teacher.
“My parents were married for 62 years, they knew each other for close to 75,” he told the crowd gathered outside the Pumphouse. “They met in elementary school in French Algeria.”
“We lost my mom five years ago, my dad passed away two-and-a-half years ago.”
Bosc said his father often received public recognition over the years, including the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario and NOTL’s Citizen of the Year Award, but his father “could not have succeeded without” his mother.
Smith said the sculpture took about a year to complete and involved sourcing polished stainless steel spheres from China before assembling the structure around an internal support network designed to hold all 110 “grapes” in place.
“They started out as mirror polished stainless steel balls,” he said. “They made them into perfect spheres using a high-pressure water pressure system that explodes it into the spherical shape.”
The mirrored purple finish was created by applying a special coating, he said.
“(The process) sucks that purple beautiful finish onto the stainless steel,” he said, calling it “an amazing thing.”
Smith said public art helps build identity and connection within communities.
“The arts is a very serious community-building process,” he said.
The sculpture was commissioned through a public art selection process led by the Pumphouse, with artists from across Ontario invited to submit designs reflecting NOTL’s agricultural and wine-growing roots.
Rima Boles, the arts centre’s director, said the project is part of the Pumphouse’s push to bring more public art into community spaces in NOTL.
“This vision fits our mission of making art accessible to all,” Boles said.
Near the end of the ceremony, Smith invited residents to walk up and place their hands directly on the sculpture’s mirrored purple spheres, breaking the usual rule of keeping distance from artwork.
“You can’t see the thing from out there,” he told the crowd. “You’ve got to come over here.”
