In the summer, the Hudson Valley brims with world-class culture from the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Garrison to the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice in the Catskills. But a special warm-weather treat are the region’s sculpture parks and museums, which are home to a wide range of talent, from regional to international artists.
Opus 40 | Saugerties
Opus 40, Harvey Fite’s bluestone masterpiece in Sau
gerties, is proof of artistic determination. This earthwork sculpture park and art center is home to awe-inspiring natural pieces of living art, crafted by Fite over decades. A central experience when visiting the park is walking on the sculpture’s walls and terraces, which weave between trees and offer a striking view of Overlook Mountain. The park also holds special programming that combines the natural beauty and topographical intrigue of the site with riveting music and theater performances.
T Space Gallery | Rhinebeck
‘T’ Space, a gallery designed and established by architect Steven Holl on the T2 Reserve forest at Round Lake, just outside the Village of Rhinebeck, aims to immerse visitors in daring, new installations of contemporary art. The gallery’s mission includes enhanced exhibits and multidisciplinary events, as well as efforts to increase artist residencies and opportunities for visitors to the gallery and its wooded surroundings.
Storm King Art Center | New Windsor
Storm King Art Center, an epic sculpture park in Mountainville, maintains a dynamic relationship between art, nature, and people. When you set out to explore the 500-acre outdoor museum, discovery is limitless. From the surrounding landscape of hills, meadows, and forests to the ambitious works of many artists (Alexander Calder, Maya Lin, Mark Di Suvero, and Roy Lichtenstein among them), there are many wonders to marvel at on the campus. Storm King also connects its visitors to special events and educational, public programs that teach them about the exhibitions and the interaction of sculpture and its natural surroundings.
Art Omi | Ghent
Art Omi is a nonprofit international arts organization situated in Ghent that houses the Fields Sculpture Park, which features over 70 works that you are free to roam around and explore. The organization also offers five residency programs for artists, architects, writers, musicians, and dancers. They invite many professionals from the art world to speak to the New York cultural scene and help foster creative minds and diverse voices. Art Omi also regularly host exhibitions, readings, and live performances by their residents that are open to the public.
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Emporium Sculpture Park | Staatsburg
As you are driving down Route 9 between Staatsburgh and Rhinebeck, make a pit stop at the Emporium Sculpture Park that lies adjacent to the highway. Franc Palaia, in collaboration with the Rhinebeck Antiques Emporium, curated this exhibition, which consists of 14 sculptures by 11 local and regional artists. Made from various materials, including metals, marble, wood, and found objects, each piece of art is stylistically abstract and carries some kind of political or humorous commentary. The sculptures also surround a gallery space that was built as an extension of the Antiques Emporium.
Brunel Park / Sculpture Garden
In the early 20th century, Frenchman Emile Brunel, a photographer, sculptor, and real estate developer, purchased the Brown Hotel in the Catskills, turning it into Le Chalet Indien (now the site of the Brunel Sculpture Park). In his travels through America, Brunel found his passion in photographing Native American lifestyle, and over a period of 20 years, he hand-carved all 14 sculptures on the property with the intention of honoring the Native American culture that he had come to love. From the ’20s through the 1940s, Le Chalet Indien drew high-profile political figures and aritsts ranging from Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt and King Edward VII to acclaimed Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso and father-son Surrealist artists Max and Jimmy Ernst. In 1997, Cynthia and Evgeny Nikitin purchased the property, and, since the opening the sculpture park to the public in 2019, they have been working to preserve the historic roots of the property. This May, they will host the Art-Nature-Music Fest.
Bradford Graves Sculpture Park
The Bradford Graves Sculpture Park in Kerhonkson spans five acres and showcases over 200 sculptures by the late artist Bradford Graves (1939–1998). Graves, renowned for his work in limestone, drew inspiration from archaeology and ancient cultures, crafting pieces that harmoniously blend modern abstraction with primordial forms. The park features the “Mirror Pavilion,” displaying 15 sculptures from his series “This Mirror Can Crack a Stone.” Smaller works in clay and bronze are exhibited in a separate gallery. Open from May through late October by appointment, the park encourages visitors to interact with the sculptures, offering a tactile experience that embodies Graves’ philosophy of engaging directly with art.
Indoor Museums
If you are looking to escape the summer heat but still enjoy the art and culture of the Hudson Valley, look no further than this great selection of indoor museums. Visit Dia in Beacon and admire their wide collection of works from contemporary artists, particularly from the ’60s and ’70s. The Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS) offers pieces from over 40 artists selected by the graduating class of the masters program in curatorial studies. The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College also offers a wide range of paintings and photographs by renowned artists, including Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Henri Matisse, among other greats. The Dorsky Museum in New Paltz has six galleries with a permanent collection of over 5,500 pieces of work from around the world spanning over a 4,000-year timeline for you to peruse and admire. Visit Magazzino in Cold Spring to delve into another culture and immerse yourself in contemporary Italian art.
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This article appears in Spring/Summer 2019.
