Since late October, crews at Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens on Riverside Drive have been raising figures above the paths, ponds and wetlands. A worker, a child or a musician hangs in the air, held up by what looks like nothing at all. They are the work of Polish sculptor Jerzy Kędziora, who goes by JOTKA. His exhibition, ELEVATE, opens to the public on Saturday, November 7, and stays up through April 30, 2027.
That is close to six months, which is longer than most visitors spend in Punta Gorda in a whole season. The length of the run matters as much as the art, because these sculptures move. A figure seen on a still November morning will look different on a gusty March afternoon. A show like that pays off for the people who live ten minutes away and can come back.
A bigger show than Coral Gables got
Kędziora's suspended figures have been in Florida before. His selected-exhibitions list includes The Art of Balance at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in 2017–2018 and Natural Balance at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in 2014. Outside Florida, it lists Balance in Nature at Old Westbury Gardens in 2019. In a March 2018 review of the Fairchild show, Miamiartzine counted nine works and noted that the run was extended through April 30.
Punta Gorda's version is described as much larger. Visit Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach puts the count at thirty suspended and balanced sculptures spread across the gardens.
| Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden | Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Gardens | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Coral Gables | 5827 Riverside Drive, Punta Gorda |
| Exhibition | The Art of Balance, 2017–2018 | ELEVATE, Nov. 7, 2026 – April 30, 2027 |
| Works on view | Nine, per Miamiartzine | Thirty, per Visit Punta Gorda/Englewood Beach |
| Setting | Botanic garden | 27 acres with about two miles of trails on the Peace River |
The artist has been at this for more than three decades. He trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk and, according to his own biography, has taken part in roughly 500 exhibitions. Punta Gorda is getting one of his larger garden installations, and you don't have to drive across Alligator Alley to see it.
Balanced on one point, moving with the river air
Each figure balances on a single support point. Kędziora works out the weight distribution and center of gravity so the solid form looks like it has slipped free of gravity. The garden's press release says the works respond to "the wind, light, water and changing conditions of The Gardens."
That is why one visit won't show you the whole thing. A garden on the Peace River feels the weather off Charlotte Harbor, so the same figure can hang almost still one day and sway the next. Light changes the sculptures too. Hours run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., which gives you morning light on one visit and late-afternoon light on another.
The plants change around the figures as well. The garden's 2025 Impact Report lists more than 6,000 annuals and 75 flowering trees planted that year, along with an expanded bougainvillea collection and new baobab and banyan trees. It also notes that the garden's Cannonball Tree bloomed for the first time. A figure hung above a bed in November will sit over different blooms by April.
The subjects are everyday people: workers, children, musicians, athletes, performers and dreamers, caught mid-motion. Lifting ordinary scenes off the ground is the whole idea, and a garden walk is a good setting for it.
The ground under the sculptures was replanted twice
The garden hosting this show has spent recent years recovering from storms. Founders Roger and Linda Tetrault started the project on 27 acres of uplands and wetlands, formed the nonprofit in 2008 and opened to the public in fall 2017. Five years later, Hurricane Ian caused $450,000 in damage, according to the Charlotte Sun. The paper reported the loss of 215 large trees and palms and about 1,000 plant specimens, along with damage to irrigation, structures and five sculptures.
Hurricane Helene followed in 2024. The Charlotte Sun reported that wind and surge knocked out the electrical system in the Butterfly House and propagation houses, and the butterflies flew away. Salt water got into the koi ponds, and the storm washed away topsoil and broke the new irrigation system. Coastal Tree & Mowing in Port Charlotte lent a skid steer free of charge, which sped up the cleanup enough for the garden to reopen. CEO Tanna Horner and her team also went out into the surrounding neighborhood to help homes and businesses, and the garden opened to everyone for free through October 25.
"My hope is that our residents can find serenity here, reconnect, and begin to heal," Horner wrote, as quoted by the Charlotte Sun.
The rebuilding shows up in the 2025 Impact Report, which lists improved ADA accessibility, expanded irrigation, a new horticulture facility, a renovated gift shop and hurricane restoration among that year's capital projects. The same report names its recent major exhibits: ZimSculpt, which the Charlotte Sun says also exhibited at the garden in 2022, and Origami in the Garden with the work of Kevin and Jennifer Box. ELEVATE is the next show in that run, and it goes up over replanted ground and new irrigation.
What six months of visits costs
Since the show is built for return visits, it's worth comparing single tickets with a membership. Posted single-day admission is $21 for adults, $18 for seniors 65 and older, $10 for students 6 to 17, and free for children 5 and under. Admission through SNAP and Museums for All is $5. The ELEVATE page lists members and reciprocal members as free. Membership tiers start at $65 for an Individual and run up to $230 for Family Plus.
| Who's visiting | Single-visit cost at posted rates | Comparable membership | Visit where membership costs less |
|---|---|---|---|
| One adult | $21 | Individual, $65 | Fourth visit, $84 in tickets |
| Two adults | $42 | Dual, $105 | Third visit, $126 in tickets |
| Two seniors | $36 | Dual, $105 | Third visit, $108 in tickets |
| Larger household | Varies | Family, $155, or Family Plus, $230 | Depends on household size |
Benefits beyond unlimited admission differ by tier, and these are the rates posted now, so check them at the front desk before you pay. Over a run from November to the end of April, one visit every six weeks or so gets an adult to the fourth visit.
Fitting it into a crowded November
From October through May, the gardens are open Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last entry is 45 minutes before closing, and the gardens close on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. One tourism listing says the gardens close Mondays. The garden's own ELEVATE press release says it is open seven days a week starting in November.
Opening weekend overlaps with a lot of other events in town. Here is how it lines up:
- November 7–8: The Florida International Air Show runs at Punta Gorda Airport. Gates open at 9 a.m. and flying starts at noon. ELEVATE opens on the 7th, so you can see the sculptures in the morning and still make the air show.
- November 14, 5 p.m.: The Holiday Lighting of the Village turns on more than a million lights at Fishermen's Village.
- November 26: Thanksgiving, when the gardens are closed.
- November 28–29: The Sullivan Street Craft Festival fills downtown over Thanksgiving weekend.
- December 18–20: The garden's own Holidays & Harmony brings live music and evening events, a chance to see the suspended figures in a different setting.
The garden also plans educational programs, tours, classes and special events on art, physics, engineering and nature during the exhibition, with details to come on its ELEVATE page.
ELEVATE is up through April 30, so there's plenty of time to make a few trips. If you're talking with friends or family about making this area home, Bobbie Leahey and the Florida Living Team SWFL would love to share the local spots we come back to again and again. Let's Get Started.
