Spectacular natural landscapes become even more impressive when set against the backdrop of monumental sculpture. Not limited to the walls and ceilings of museums and galleries, artists’ ideas are brought to life outdoors, directly interacting with the environment. We offer 10 sculpture parks for lovers of landscapes and art
Storm King Art Center, USA
Storm King Art Center was founded in 1960 to showcase the majestic landscape paintings of Hudson River School artists. Over time, it has developed into one of the leading sculpture parks, where more than 100 contemporary works decorate the pastoral landscape with its open spaces, hills, and ponds. The list of authors includes Isamu Noguchi, Richard Serra, Maya Lin, Barbara Hepworth, and Alexander Lieberman. The park is located an hour north of New York City in the lower Hudson Valley and is ideal for a day trip. • stormking.org
Sidney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, USA
This complex is located on the grounds of the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) and is surrounded by magnolia trees, winding paths, and natural lagoons. It boasts a collection of more than 60 sculptures by artists such as Henry Moore, Fernando Botero, and Antoine Bourdelle. Here you can see the surreal sculpture “Labours of Alexandre” by Rene Magritte, as well as “The Tree of Necklaces” by Jean-Michel Othoniel. In 2019, the garden’s territory increased by 6.5 hectares: the two parts were connected by a more than 20-meter glass bridge “Mississippi Bends,” specially designed for this place by Elin Zimmerman. Landscaping at The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden was carried out by Sawyer | Berson, for architectural elements – Lee Ledbetter & Associates. • noma.org
Fran and Ray Stark Sculpture Garden, USA
In most sculpture parks, the landscape inspires the work, but in the Fran and Ray Stark Garden, located at the entrance to the Getty Museum, the opposite is true – the garden itself was designed by landscape architects specifically to house art objects. By carefully considering how the sculptures relate to their surroundings, OLIN Studio created a multi-layered space with intimate spaces for inward contemplation and dramatic landscapes. The park features works by Isamu Noguchi, Peter Shelton, Elisabeth Frink, and other contemporary artists. • getty.edu
Cass Family Sculpture Trust, UK
Founded in 1992 by Wilfred and Jeanette Cass, the Cass Sculpture Foundation brings together the work of world-renowned artists and emerging talent. The Foundation supports its authors at all stages of creating a work – from concept to production, exhibition, and sale. The park occupies a 10.5-hectare wooded area, with winding paths leading to more than 80 modernist works that can be purchased. One of the park’s highlights is Thomas Heatherwick’s Pavillion: a glass structure with a distorted and curved roof that simultaneously appears open and inaccessible to visitors. •sculpture.org
Hakone Open Air Museum, Japan
Hakone Open-Air Museum, opened in 1969, is Japan’s first open-air museum. His task is to create a harmonious dialogue between art and nature. The vast grounds offer impressive views, monumental works, and a variety of exhibitions. One of the most impressive exhibits is the Woods of Net pavilion, created by Tezuka Architects and Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam, which features a colorful knitted play structure inside. You can also interact with the Symphonic sculpture of Gabriel Loire: by climbing the steel and glass tower with a spiral staircase in the center, you can admire the view of the surrounding area. The museum is an 85-minute train ride from Tokyo, is open to the public all year round, and is ideal for a day or two. • jnto.go.jp
Le Domaine de Muy, France
Le Domaine de Muy, open since 2015 and located in the south of France, was the lifelong dream of former art dealer Jean-Gabriel Mitterrand, who opened the park with the help of his son Edouard. This is a gated complex – you can get here by appointment. It strives to present monumental works of art surrounded by untouched nature and showcases works by artists such as Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, Keith Haring, and Carlos Cruz-Diez. Architect India Madavi designed the interiors, and designer Louis Benes worked on the landscape. Each item is carefully selected to suit its environment. Among the highlights is Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden, which features 1,600 stainless steel spheres floating on the surface of a shallow pond. • domainedumuy.com
Ekeberg Sculpture Park, Norway
Viewpoints with scenic views, varied natural landscapes, and sculptures by Dali, Rodin, and Renoir make Ekebergparken attractive to both nature lovers and art lovers. Opened by Christian Ringnes in 2013, the park covers more than 10 hectares of forest in southeast Oslo and is free to the public. Iconic objects include Salvador Dali’s Venus de Milo with Drawers, a surreal statue of Venus with drawers on various parts of the body, as well as two sculptures by Renoir: La Grande Laveuse and Venus Victrix. The park is proud of the presence of more than 40 species of nesting birds, farm and wild animals, rare trees, and plants. • ekebergparken.com
Inotim, Brazil
Bernardo Paz, the creator of Inhotim, conceived it not just as a park or museum, but rather as a way of life. The only Brazilian institution to permanently exhibit a world-class collection of contemporary art, Inhotim strives to simultaneously engage the public with art and nature. The collection includes works by Anish Kapoor, Tunga, and George Miller. A spectacular view of the garden is offered by Dane Olafur Eliasson’s “Viewing Machine” – a mirrored kaleidoscope that transforms and multiplies the lush greenery of the landscape. The territory also contains a botanical garden and rare plants. • inhotim.org.br
Kröller-Muller Museum, Netherlands
The Kröller-Müller Museum has one of the largest collections of sculptures in Europe – the collection includes more than 160 works by artists such as Aristide Maillol, Jean Dubuffet, Martha Pan, and Pierre Huyge. The park is open to the public all year round and looks different as the seasons change. Popular pieces include Richard Serra’s cylindrical sculpture One, located at the foot of a staircase cut into the hillside, and Mark Di Suvero’s K-piece, a bright red steel structure of crisscrossing beams. Next door to the park is a museum housing the world’s second-largest collection of Van Gogh paintings. • krollermuller.nl
Chianti Sculpture Park, Italy
At Chianti Sculpture Park, founded by Rosalba and Piero Giadrossi, the landscape itself inspires artists: they are invited to choose their favorite place in the park and create a work of art especially for it. This is how the permanent exhibition of the Chianti Park appeared. Overgrown with hollies and oaks, it covers an area of almost 7 hectares. When visiting the park, it is recommended to look at the work of architect Geoff Saward Glass Labyrinth, a labyrinth of greenish glass blocks through which visitors can walk, and also get acquainted with the monumental sculpture Energy by Costas Varotsos: made of glass blocks, it looks different depending on the lighting. • chiantisculpturepark.it
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