More than 50 large-scale outdoor sculptures by artist Steve Tobin now rise among the trees and trails of Tyler Arboretum in Media, some towering as high as 30 feet, in what the arboretum is calling the largest art installation it has ever attempted. The exhibition, titled Steve Tobin: In the Light, opened Friday, October 16, and is scheduled to remain on view through October 2027.
According to Tyler Arboretum, the show marks the first time Tobin has presented his work in his native Philadelphia region, and it spans the arboretum's 650-acre landscape. There is some discrepancy over exactly how many locations the sculptures occupy: Tyler Arboretum's own exhibition page states the works are installed across 24 sites, while the Delaware County Times reported ahead of the opening that the pieces span 15 unique sites. Regardless of the exact count, regular Tyler general admission includes the exhibition, and members receive free general admission, per the arboretum.
As reported by WHYY, the sculptures are installed in 24 locations inside the arboretum's deer fence, which protects roughly 100 acres of cultivated trees, plants, pathways and historic structures. Beyond that fenced core, Tyler Arboretum maintains 17 miles of hiking trails through woodlands, wetlands and meadows, a figure also confirmed by the Delaware County Times' coverage of the exhibition's announcement.
A Homecoming for a Quakertown-Based Artist
Tobin is based in Quakertown and grew up roughly half an hour from Tyler Arboretum, attending Haverford School before earning a degree in theoretical mathematics, physics and materials science, according to WHYY. He has said no formal art training, and the Delaware County Times notes he spent more than four decades combining scientific experimentation with innovative industrial processes and materials. Tobin has described his own practice of turning aspects of nature into sculpture as visual science, per Smithsonian Magazine.
Tobin told WHYY that the Tyler Arboretum show is a homecoming, and the outlet reports the exhibition represents both his most extensive installation and his closest-to-home exhibition to date. Kathryn Ombam, the arboretum's interim executive director, said the installation is the arboretum's most ambitious art installation in its 82-year history, according to WHYY's reporting. Chris Lauf, Tyler Arboretum's director of education, is also cited in that coverage.
Roots, Calligraphy and Hidden Bronze Eggs
WHYY describes Tobin's sculptures, built from steel, bronze and highly reflective stainless steel, as mimicking roots, twisting tree branches and cloud formations, with many works designed to interact with their environments. One piece, Syntax, is a 6-foot ball formed by welding prefabricated bronze letters into a shrub shape; its layered letters create voids that attract nesting birds, per the outlet. Tobin's steel pieces also twist into shapes inspired by Japanese calligraphy and cast shadows that can be read on bright days, WHYY reports, and the artist has said he plans to hide tiny bronze egg sculptures around the arboretum grounds for visitors to find during the run of the show.
Tobin is best known for Trinity Root, a bronze cast of sycamore roots at Trinity Church in Manhattan that commemorates the roots that protected St. Paul's Chapel from debris during the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center collapse, according to WHYY. Tobin has said that many of his works explore existential transformation, WHYY reports. His sculptures have previously filled an exhibition of 50 large pieces at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and its sister Page Museum, per Smithsonian Magazine.
From Maui's Wildfire Memorial to the Philly Suburbs
Tobin's Tyler Arboretum show follows a string of major installations elsewhere. In January 2024, he opened a one-year exhibition called Steve Tobin from Earth to Sky on Maui, consisting of more than 20 installations reaching up to 30 feet high, according to his own studio website. WHYY reports that show commemorated the 2023 Lahaina fire and became Hawaii's largest sculpture show ever. Separately, Maui Now reported that the Earth to Sky exhibit at Imua Discovery Garden featured more than 20 bronze and steel works spread across a historic 6-acre property.
Tobin's momentum has continued beyond Hawaii: his piece New York Roots was voted Best Public Art in New York City in 2025, the Delaware County Times reported. Back in Media, Tyler Arboretum is currently in a strategic planning phase and is searching for a permanent director, according to WHYY, with Ombam continuing to serve in the interim role as the sculpture exhibition settles into its first weeks on the grounds.
