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Art in Nature

Explore an amazing outdoor museum

Experience incredible artistic works in a beautiful outdoor setting in New York’s Hudson Valley. Named after a nearby majestic mountain, Storm King Art Center, a 500-acre outdoor museum, has been featuring modern and contemporary art since 1960.

“If you want an experience of big open fields with grasses and wildflowers, head south from the center [of Storm King] and you’ll see large-scale installations that are dramatically set in the fields,” says Art Center’s Senior Curator, Nora Lawrence. “Then, if you head to the outskirts, or to the north, there are paths through the woods with smaller sculptures and installations, so that’s a totally different experience.”

It's definitely been a landscape project for as long as it’s been an art project, she adds, and there’s no way to separate those two things. “They make each other more extraordinary. It’s something that has been created through generations of landscape architects who have also worked closely with artists to make sure we’re making the most of artistic projects by using the land to complement them.”

Over the years, artists have included Alexander Calder and Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. In addition to extraordinary outdoor works of art, there are nine galleries located inside the Museum Building, a beautiful renovated mansion built in 1935.

Storm King receives almost 200,000 visitors in an average year. “We get a lot of visitors from the Hudson Valley, northern New Jersey, and New York City, but they also come from places like Germany, France, Japan, and Brazil,” says Nora.

Like most nonprofits, Storm King needs funding in order to continue operating. A great way to support this unique and beautiful place is to buy a membership or donate, which can open up special experiences.

“There’s no place like Storm King in the local region,” says Nora. “There’s nothing else that offers such an open and grand scale experience of art in nature. That’s really special.”

New this summer:

A permanent major commission by artist Sarah Sze. “It’s going to be a 36-foot diameter incomplete circle called Fallen Sky,” says Nora. “The top, which faces up towards the sky, is mirrored stainless steel, so you can look into it and see not only your face, but the sky and clouds and trees as well. It kind of brings the sky and the heavens down to earth. Sarah has also done a temporary installation that will be in our largest indoor gallery.”

An installation on loan by Rashid Johnson called The Crisis. “It’s made of open steel boxes sitting on top of each other,” says Nora. “Inside of them, Rashid has included things that are personal to him and are all about living.”

To plan your visit, go to https://stormking.org/.

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