France, Arles, Provence
LUMA Arles is a cultural space imagined by Swiss art collector Maja Hoffmann in collaboration with renowned Canadian architect Frank Gehry. Hoffman adores the charming Provençal town of Arles – where Vincent van Gogh to was inspired to create some of his most famous paintings including Sunflowers, La Maison Jaune and Van Gogh’s Chair – and she wanted to keep its artistic legacy alive by creating studios to provide artists with opportunities to collaborate and create new work. Gehry clad the twisted facade with 11,000 stainless steel bricks to reflect the colour of the sky and mimic van Gogh’s bold impasto brushwork. The building’s base is a two-storey glass rotunda inspired by Arles’ magnificent Roman amphitheatre. Inside the rotunda, two 30-metre-long stainless steel slides – built for adults as well as children – snake around each other, adding a sense of whimsy and playfulness to the space. luma-arles.org
Australia, Tasmania, Hobart
Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania. Photo: Mona/Jesse Hunniford/Image courtesy of the artists and Mona, Tasmania, Australia
The Museum of Old and New Art or MONA was founded by Australian professional gambler, art collector and businessman David Walsh.It is the largest privately funded museum in the southern hemisphere. Dramatically carved into a sandstone cliff above the River Derwent, the museum is designed to defy conventional layouts and be a place of discovery, with three levels of labyrinthine underground galleries that display provocative, playful and unconventional art. The grounds include the Moorilla winery, a brewery and several bars and high-end restaurants, making it the perfect spot to lose yourself for an entire day. mona.net.au
Norway, Jevnaker
Aug 2024 exhibit. Creds, Vegard Kleven. Photo: Courtesy Kistefos Museum
The architectural centrepiece of the museum is The Twist, a huge spiralling gallery made out of twisted strips of wood that acts as both a sculpture and a bridge over the fast-flowing Randselva river. kistefosmuseum.no
Kistefos Museum is located an hour north of Oslo, on a 2,000-acre estate surrounded by forests and waterfalls. The sculpture garden here is astonishing, with 52 sculptures placed in the natural environment. Some are designed to blend in while others are intended to surprise and shock, making a walk in the woods a surreal experience.
The architectural centrepiece of the museum is The Twist, a huge spiralling gallery made out of twisted strips of wood that acts as both a sculpture and a bridge over the fast-flowing Randselva river. kistefosmuseum.no
USA, Potomac, Maryland
Jeff Koons, Split-Rocker, 2000, stainless steel, soil, geotextile fabric, internal irrigation system, and live flowering plants, 37 x 39 x 36 feet. © Jeff Koons Photo courtesy: Glenstone Museum
Glenstone is a privately owned contemporary art museum located outside of Washington, D.C., on nearly 300 acres of meadows and forests boasting streams, trails, paths and outdoor sculptures. The minimalist architecture of the museum contrasted with the outdoor landscapes is designed to offer visitors a calm, contemplative experience. The carefully curated exhibitions and installations are drawn from the museum’s post-World War II art collection, including works by Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock.
The newest exhibition space at Glenstone, the Pavilions, extends the meditative feeling of the museum. Flooded with natural light, the 11 cubic galleries, some purpose-built to house single-artist collections from the likes of Cy Twombly and Brice Marden, are connected by glass walkways built around a massive water court dotted with waterlilies. glenstone.org
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