Travel Guide
Best Outdoor ArtNot that you need a reason to soak up some vitamin D, but why not enjoy some culture while you're living life al fresco? Here, a few inspiring places for summer 2021…
New York, New York — Reclining Liberty
Even Lady Liberty needs to kick back. Head to Morningside Park for Zaq Landsberg's massive sculpture of the New York icon in repose. And take the kids—this is art you can touch, climb, hug and lean against. Fun fact: It's inspired by Buddhist imagery.
Reclining Liberty by Zaq Landsberg, at Morningside Park
This one is not to be missed. The famed Japanese artist has taken over New York Botanical Gardens with an immersive, multi-installation exhibit. You can spot her works throughout the park, from her wonderfully whimsical dotted flora to that Instagrammer's delight, Infinity Mirrored Room.
Miami, Florida — Your Mommas Voice in the Back of Your Head
The photo here doesn't do this work, by Najja Moon, justice. It's an audio installation, featuring multidirectional speakers projecting mantras, scolds and colloquialisms from Moon's own mom as well as other family and friends—hence the pretty fantastic title. Your Mommas Voice in the Back of Your Head is the first in a New Monuments series by Miami Beach's contemporary art museum, The Bass, and will be a fluid installation: Through recording sessions open to locals, the artist will also gather voices from the public in English, Spanish and Creole.
Najja Moon's gradient dichroic glass at The Bass
Towner Eastbourne is a gem of a contemporary art gallery in the seaside town of Eastbourne, in East Sussex. And, now, you don't even have to step inside to appreciate great art. The institution tapped German artist Lothar Götz to paint a mural, on view till 2024, on the exterior—its first ever. (For the record, the interior is pretty awesome, too—there are works by Olafur Eliasson, Wolfgang Tillmans, Julian Opie, Tacita Dean, Grayson Perry, Eric Ravilious and more.)
Are these figures, by Bruno Catalano, fading away or materializing? It's all relative, but since we're finally on the other side of the pandemic—heading back to life, friends, hugs, travel—we're choosing to cast our vote with the glass-half-full crowd. Set against the backdrop of Marseilles, this series of sculptures seen throughout the city is just magical.
This powerful piece by starchitect Daniel Libeskind takes place in the breathtaking baroque gardens of Paleis Het Loo, a.k.a. the Versailles of Holland. Those grand and colorful angular sculptures? There are four and offer a curious counterpoint to the impeccably manicured surroundings—they represent the curved fragments of a shattered planet. The Garden of Earthly Worries is open now till September 26.
This is what art is about—lifting your spirits from the mundane. This massive mural by Jo Hicks, a.k.a. Hixxy, wraps around all four sides of a parking garage, which was formerly a city eyesore. It's part of The Brentford Project, an initiative to enhance the neighborhood. Bright, colorful and joyful, the work features local flora and fauna—plus a nod to the local soccer (er, football) team, Brentford F.C., otherwise known as the Bees.
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