NYC's Favorite Art Exhibition is an Apartment Filled with Dirt in SoHo

How Walter De Maria walked so James Turrell could run.

Some of the most compelling works I have ever seen are works that occupy more than purely visual forms. These are experiential spaces within museums that manage to appropriately tie in multiple senses rather than only sight. The problem I see with many modern museums is that experiential spaces can easily become a gimmick for people to share on social media rather than compelling concepts with stories behind them. I think of galleries or exhibitions like the works inside the Balloon Museum that are a step above a children’s playground. These exhibitions may serve as an entertaining experience but lack the conceptual depth that a proper experiential space at a prestigious museum like MoMA or the Tate Modern would host.

Some of my favorite artists who make work that falls into this category are James Turrell, Olafur Eliasson, and Anish Kapoor. All of these artists have a clear affinity for creating large works that are not only visually enthralling but also make the viewer tap into their sense of the space around them.

Skyspace Lech by James Turrell in Austria

Many of Turrell’s works take place in scenic locations like this one. The integration of this architectural space into the Austrian mountains makes the overall work much more compelling than if this specific space was inside a hill in Alabama.