sarah sze embeds mirrored installation into storm king art center's landscape

new york’s storm king art center has unveiled its latest permanent addition — a site-specific commission by american artist sarah sze. titled fallen sky, the installation consists of a 26-foot-diameter spherical cavity emerging from the earth with its mirrored stainless-steel surface reflecting its surroundings. sited with consideration of both its immediate surroundings and distant views, the work is made up of 132 individual elements with reflective surfaces nestled into the hillside.

images by storm king art center

fallen sky by sarah sze is described by the artist herself as filmic due to its dynamic nature and ability to reflect the passing time and seasons. the piece collapse the horizon line by pulling the earth and air toward each other. instead of adding to the landscape, the piece is visually merged with it, reflecting and embedded in its surroundings. the overall aesthetic of the installation is somehow related to a ruin, frozen in a state of partial deterioration.

‘fallen sky shares with other works in storm king’s collection a grand scale and a union with nature, while also moving in a new and specific direction: toward ethereality and a deep responsive to subtle environmental change,’ said nora lawrence, senior curator at storm king.

to inaugurate the commission, the storm king art center is also presenting an exhibition titled fifth season which adds to sarah sze’s exploration of the landscape as both an idea and an aesthetic practice, building on her ongoing preoccupation with themes of entropy, temporality and subjectivity. the multimedia installation covers 50 feet in length and is designed to create an interior landscape which studied the light in the gallery space using time-lapse cameras and projected recordings into the canvases capturing light. the projectors installed in the gallery shed the light recordings onto the paintings, which visitors can experience together with natural light filtering through the windows. the interplay between natural light, video, images and paint reflects the ways in which we perceive and interpret nature.

‘sarah sze is one of the most important artists of our time. it has been a joy to work with her and to hear her speak of her many inspirations that led her to create fallen sky,’ said john p. stern, president of storm king. ‘earth, sky, and sculpture are core to what makes storm king unique and ever-evolving—and fallen sky will be beautifully linked to that tradition. we’re thrilled to unveil sarah’s site-specific commission for storm king’s permanent collection, as well as the captivating installation fifth season, in our museum building.’

project info:

name: fallen sky and fifth season

artist: sarah sze

location: storm king art center, new york