Arts Travel: Sculpture En Plein Air
- The Bernar Venet exhibition at Hermann Park in Houston, Texas, includes “Arcs in Disorder: 3 Arcs x 5.” Credit: Bernar Venet Studio and McClain Gallery, Houston/Nash Baker
Summer is the season to get outdoors and explore art alfresco. To get you started, we’ve handpicked a series of sculpture parks across the country.
The Des Moines Art Center in Iowa has outdone itself: the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park officially premiered last fall, 32 blocks east of the art center. The south side of the park is a must-see: it offers dramatic views of Mark di Suvero’s bright-red steel “T8” and Jaume Plensa’s pensive “Nomade.” And be sure to walk the 4.4-acre park—the architects designed it to unfold slowly, using hills and 8-foot-high backdrops to focus your attention on specific works while temporarily hiding others. The park currently showcases 16 donations from collectors John and Mary Papajohn; when completed, it will feature 24 works worth $40 million. Visit www.desmoinesartcenter.org for details.
Houston’s Texan French Alliance for the Arts unveiled the exhibition Bernar Venet at Hermann Park in January. Eight seemingly impossibly arced steel sculptures that stand up to 30 feet high and weigh up to 12 tons will be on display at the 445-acre park through Sept. 30. Go to www.texanfrenchalliance.org for more information.
The Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indiana unveils “100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park” June 20 with a public grand opening to celebrate the eight initial commissions that dot the park’s 100 acres. The museum plans to continuously add new commissions to the park in the coming years. If you visit now, expect to see a group of 20 bone-shaped benches, 30-foot-wide hanging metal rings oriented so two shadows become one during the summer solstice, and a large, dark ship emerging from the park’s lake. For information on the special grand opening events, visit www.imamuseum.org.
