visual arts
museums
In the Light of a Shadow, Glenn Kaino at MASS MoCA.
Speaking of going outside, the Berkshires is full of spectacular outdoor art, and we give you the full rundown in “Art in Public Places” on page 50 of this magazine. In the meantime, there’s still lots of art indoors well worth your while. MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest centers for making and enjoying today’s most evocative art. Also, one of the largest in terms simply of floor and wall space. With vast galleries and a stunning collection of indoor and outdoor performing arts venues, MASS MoCA is able to embrace all forms of art: music, sculpture, dance, film, painting, photography, theater, and new, boundary-crossing works of art that defy easy classification. Much of the work shown in its light-filled spaces and late 19th-century courtyards is made there during extended residencies that bring hundreds of the world’s most brilliant and innovative artists to North Adams all year round. Works by the wildly inventive artist James Turrell are now on view at MASS MoCA both outside and in. Outside, Turrell’s Skyscape comes on view starting May 29. This repurposed concrete water tank, measuring 40 feet wide by 40 feet high, is a naked-eye observatory framing, through an observation hole in its ceiling, a small piece of sky as a canvas with infinite depth. Skyscape compliments Into the Light inside the museum, a long-term retrospective of Turrell’s work that currently includes nine light installations. And there’s still more Turrell: his collaboration with Irish potter Nicholas Mousse has produced a curious line of ceramic tableware that absorbs light rather than refracting it. Beginning May 30, MASS MoCA will open an exhibition of this Lapsed Quaker Ware in a modern setting; at the same time, Hancock Shaker Village will display the collection in an historic setting. Glenn Kaino’s In the Light of a Shadow currently spans MASS MoCA’s signature football-field-sized Building 5 gallery with an immersive installation exploring the power of collective action, and its Kidspace gallery, which is free of charge, is hosting work by Wendy Red Star.
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