A visit to Storm King Art Center in Mountainville New York was a much needed break after Superstorm Sandy. A museum that celebrates the relationship between art and nature, Storm King (a name apropos of the Hurricane) always delights and recharges my soul because its exhibition space is defined by earth and sky.
Storm King Art Center is an outdoor museum, anchored by a 1935 Normandy style residence construced from stone salvaged from a nearby mansion. It's permanent collection is distinguished by monumental sculptures from the 1960's to the present and includes work by David Smith, Alexander Calder, Sol LeWitt, Henry Moore, Louis Nevelson and Isamu Noguchi. That collection is enhanced by major works on loan or recently acquired from contemporary sculptors including Alice Aycock, Mark diSuvero, Andy Goldsworthy, Maya Lin, Name June Paik and Richard Serra, among others.
These incredible installations are set on a dramatic landscape that includes farm fields, formal allees, natural woodlands, lawns, native grasses, wetlands and water.
When it was founded, Storm King focused on the radiant, sublime vistas created by the painters of the 19th century Hudson River School. It continues to honor this tradition by presenting contemporary artists who consider natural light in ever new ways.
One of my favorite installations is Solarium by William Lamson. Solarium functions as both an isolated hillside sanctuary and an experimental greenhouse. Carmelized sugar is baked into the windows of Solarium, tinting each a unique shade of amber. All plants create sugars through photosynthesis and those inside Solarium use light that has been filtered through sugars. As I sat inside Solarium, the calm that I felt was palpable and I was reminded that the sun is our original and ultimate marker of passing time. And as they say, time heals all wounds.
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