Storm King Art Center has added a new
Maya Lin sculpture “Wavefield” to its collection. If you are not familiar with Maya Lin, her artistic career took off when, in 1982 as a young architectural student at Yale, her model of a wall embedded into the landscape was chosen for the design of the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall. Her work is consistently concerned with structural reflections on the environment and “Wavefield” is no different; a waveform sculpture built from top soil, gravel, and low-impact grasses covers what was once a gravel pit on the Storm King campus. Maya Lin’s sculpture suggests the landscape as waves changing and forming over time, the piece forces a contemplation on our own ability to ‘move mountains’ for better or for worse. Her approach bridges a concern with sculptural installation and an environmental awareness, Maya carefully considers her carbon footprint and is in the process of planting trees on the periphery of "Wavefield" to counter the energy used during the process of producing the sculpture. Like such Earthworks artists as Andy Goldsworthy (whose work is also on view), Lin's obvious passion for natural forms has made her a staple in the international art scene and her work, considered both installation and land art, is in my opinion a contemporary mode on the sublime.
Storm King sits on 500 acres of manicured land and has developed a permanent collection of outdoor sculptures that are dependent on the changing landscape. In conjunction with the unveiling of Lin’s “Wavefield”, Storm King Art Center is exhibiting
Maya Lin: Bodies of Water, on display are sketches, models and smaller sculptures by the artist in its museum building.
Maya Lin: Bodies of Water is on view until November 15, 2009
Storm King Art Center is located in the Hudson River Valley, one hour north of New York City.
This is the first installment of what I hope to be a 5 piece seasonal posting of Art Must-Sees across the US.
