The advent of modern art also changed outdoor sculpture, sociologizing its functions and widening its influence. Today, a sculpture may be an art object in a park or garden, it may be part of the exterior of an urban unit of various public buildings or an architectural ensemble, or it may be a monument commemorating important events or personalities. However, in all cases, it should be something exceptional and its location should be different from other places. Collecting monumental sculptures and their permanent presentation in the open air is a phenomenon that spread considerably, especially in the second half of the last century. Hundreds of sculptural complexes of greater or lesser extent have been created throughout the world. The majority of them were established by collectors and patrons of art, who collected works not only for their own pleasure, but as a social phenomenon with a mission to fulfil in the social context.
Among well-known European sculpture parks and complexes, we can mention the vast garden of the Kröller-Müller at Otterlo in Holland, the excellent museum with a park at Louisiana in Denmark, the sculpture park at Middelheim or the attractive environment at Foundation Maeght in St Paul de Vence. In comparison with Europe’s parks, American sculpture parks are more extensive and offer the possibility of both artistic and social use. The Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle is fantastic. The Griffis Sculpture Park in Ashford Hollow is considered to be one of the largest. The Benson Sculpture Garden at Loveland in Colorado has functioned since the mid-eighties. The Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton must not be forgotten among the many others. It attracts viewers with sculptural replicas of classic modern pictures. The origin of the sculpture park at the Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum has much in common with the origin of many of those mentioned above. It started with the art lover and collector Gerard Meulensteen, who had the opportunity to get to know modern and contemporary art in our country after the fall of socialism, and to establish contacts with many artists. The origin of the museum is described elsewhere, but collections were most important for the activity of the new museum. Meulensteen entered the context of Slovak art as someone creating good personal relations and friendships with many outstanding artists during his decades of activity in the field of art. This is what enabled him to obtain works for the Danubiana collection from artists who had never been represented in Slovak art collections, whether public or private. His idea of building up a museum collection had two basic aims: contemporary Slovak painting and sculpture, and a representation of leading personalities in European and world art. The unique position of the museum enables the creation of a collection of outdoor sculpture in the surrounding park, to supplement its works designed for interiors. The collection now has more than 30 exhibits originating in various countries. Half the works are the property of the Meulensteen Collection, while the rest are long-term loans from artists and important galleries, mainly foreign.
Meulensteen has recently added more extraordinary works to the collection, including sculptural groups by Arman and Jim Dine. With the sculptures that already have a place in the park, such as the works by Magdalena Abakanowicz, Karel Appel, Hans van de Bovenkamp, Rein Dool, Sam Francis and Billio Nic, they form an excellent collection of outdoor sculptures with no parallel in Slovakia. Works by important Slovak artists such as Július Bartfay, Jozef Jankovič, Vladimír Kompánek and Erna Masarovičová, who are establishing their international status in this way, comprise the other half of the exhibits.