Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden

Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden began in 2009 with an excavator.

South African sculptor Dylan Lewis originally wanted to reshape a piece of land beside his Stellenbosch home, but the landscape itself gradually became part of his artistic practice.

For almost two years, he worked with the excavator operator to create hills, valleys, ponds and paths, treating the ground almost as he would clay or bronze.

Today, the garden covers around seven hectares, with more than 60 bronze sculptures placed among fynbos, water and increasingly wild sections of the landscape.

That means the experience is not only about individual works.

The route allows sculptures to appear gradually from the terrain. Some areas feel carefully controlled and almost precise, while others become rougher and less cultivated.

That transition reflects one of Lewis’s central ideas: the wilderness within.

It also helps explain the recurring predators.

During the 1990s, Lewis worked extensively with leopards, lions and cheetahs. For him, big cats were not simply beautiful wildlife subjects. They became a way of exploring power, instinct, sexuality and violence, qualities that can be much harder to confront in human form.

His work later moved increasingly towards fragmented bodies, shamanic figures and almost abstract human forms.

So the garden can also be read as a personal artistic journey: from wildlife towards the human body, vulnerability, grief and inner conflict.

The sculptures are not arranged according to a strict chronology. Lewis has described the groupings as something that developed intuitively over many years.

That is why the garden feels less like an open-air museum.

It works more like one large artwork in which bronze, plants, water, terrain and empty space depend on one another.

Visits are by appointment. This is private property, and the route includes gravel, grass and steps, so comfortable shoes are useful. Current booking slots and access conditions should be checked before visiting.

In short: 🗿 60+ sculptures · 🌿 Around 7 hectares · 🐆 Big cats · 🧍 Human figures · 🌱 Fynbos · 🌀 The wilderness within · 📅 Visits by appointment