Dwell Recommends: Storm King Art Center

As spring seems to have finally come to stay, New Yorkers are venturing out to enjoy the many outdoor events and cultural offerings in the area. Storm King Art Center is leading the way by presenting two new exhibitions, "Evoking Tradition" by Chinese artist Zhang Huan and "Outlooks" by Brooklyn-based Virginia Overton.

Huan, primarily known for his performance art, presents over 15 sculptures, older works as well as site-specific pieces. Sculptures made from ash gathered from Buddhist temples hold particular value for the artist. "The incense ashes are not like any medium that artists use, for me, the ashes represent the collective strength of a nation, their collective spirit, their wishes, their soul. And so, to me, they are sacred," says Huan. Outside in the grass lie six large-scale works, fragments of Buddha’s body that seem at once monumental and contemplative.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is the towering copper and steel sculpture, "Three Legged Buddha." Twenty-eight feet high and weighing more than twelve tons, it was first displayed at the Royal Academy in London before becoming a part of Storm King in 2010.

While Huan’s pieces preside over a small hill, Virginia Overton presents a 400-foot-long brass tube in the sprawling field that opens up below the Center. The sculpture sinuously curves along the land, responding not only to the site but also to its seasonal changes. If you don’t get a chance to see the work in the spring, once the hay rises up in the summer the sculpture will seem even more ethereal as a flickering golden line floating above the grass.