Storm King Art Center one of the best Sculpture Parks

Once the New York art world's best-kept secret, the Storm King Art Center has exploded into popular consciousness in recent years. Suddenly, it seems like everyone is making the short walk to the sprawling outdoor sculpture park, just an hour's drive north of the city in the idyllic Hudson Valley region.

Set to celebrate its 65th anniversary next year, Storm King has become perhaps the largest and most renowned outdoor sculpture park in the US. Steady growth and tireless conservation have led to a permanent collection of more than 100 works, spread across 500 hectares of lush fields and forests. Well-known artists such as Richard Serra, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Isamu Noguchi and Maya Lin, as well as more contemporary names including Sarah Sze, Rashid Johnson, Zhang Huan and Ugo Rondinone, ensured a steady stream of amazed and eager visitors to exchange the white cubes from the galleries of Manhattan to the green expanses of upstate New York.

Storm King President John Stern — whose father and grandfather co-founded the space in 1960 as a museum for Hudson River School paintings before broadening the scope to include outdoor sculptures — isn't surprised by the increase in attendance. . “Storm King is the kind of place where, if you've been, you love it,” he said in an interview. “In recent years, we’ve increased our exhibits and programming, so more and more people are realizing that it’s different than anywhere else they’ve seen.”

“The combination of art and nature at Storm King is unusual and invigorating,” agrees Nora Lawrence, artistic director and chief curator of the sculpture park. She has the enviable job of working directly with artists to map and install their ambitious projects, often shaping the landscape to accommodate them. “Our space is not neutral or empty – it is an active participant in any installation,” she said. “We thrive working with artists who specifically want their work to be located on Storm King.”

One such artist is Arlene Shechet, who launched the 2024 summer season with six large, vibrant sheet metal abstractions as well as smaller ceramics displayed in the indoor galleries. “The sculptures are meant to be seen at long distances from the Storm King,” Lawrence said. “They can all be seen with one another in the frame of your gaze.”

Source: Artnet News