Last year, we went to the renowned Storm King Art Center down in Orange County; this year we’re exploring more of our new home, Columbia County. In the nearby town of Ghent is The Fields Sculpture Park at Omi International Arts Center, which contains dozens of large-scale works from modern artists, on over 100 acres of fields and woodlands.
Many of these works are impressive by virtue of their size, others by the messages they convey. Some, like the top photo, appear to defy gravity. It’s fascinating to see how these artists work with various materials to produce something meaningful and how each piece contrasts or fits with the natural surroundings.
We visited The Fields with Juno on a cold but mostly snow-less day in January, and then Andy went back during a snowstorm for some more interesting shots. It’s fun to compare his before-and-after photos.
Below, a steel piece by Alexandre Arrechea entitled Helmsley (based on the NYC building of the same name):
I didn’t even notice that it was a building until I researched the artist later!
Juno and I on Chaise Gabion by Celeste Roberge:
Haresh Lalvani creates aesthetically stunning sculptures derived from natural designs, generative principles and mathematical codes. His X-Pod 138 and X-Tower are both made of stainless steel:
Nice view from inside the tower:
Jackie Ferrara’s wooden Ribbed Dome:
The next two sculptures are my favorites. It’s rare that I immediately identify with a piece of art, but as soon as I saw Alison Saar’s Summer and Winter, I said “Yup, that’s me!”.
And in the snow:
Some rather large heads by artist Philip Grausman:
Another (more snowy) perspective on the topmost photo, Forrest Myers’ Valledor, linked metal cubes:
A commonly photographed piece:
Me, on my first trip to Omi International Arts Center (yes, I shaved my head on purpose):
Everyone’s favorite place for selfies is Margaret Evangeline’s Gunshot Landscape, mirror-polished double-sided stainless steel suspended by aircraft cable in the middle of the woods. Here are some more fun then-and-now shots! Andy and I, one month into dating in July 2007:
And they seem to have raised the mirror, so we aren’t as close, but here we are in January 2012:
And January 2015!
Returning to The Fields Sculpture Park over a period of years is intriguing: seeing new exhibits, visiting old favorites, and the passing of seasons adds a whole other element to appreciating this unique open-air museum.
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The nitty gritty: The Fields Sculpture Park and Architecture OMI are free and open year round during daylight hours. It is located on County Route 22 in Ghent, NY, half an hour southeast of Albany and two and a half hours north of NYC. The park is pet and kid friendly, and requires a lot of walking (plan for at least an hour). In the summer, bicycles are available for use on designated paths and in the winter, cross-country skiing is another free option.
The pod piece reminds me of a pod on the coast in Porto, Portugal and the Tower reminds me of the city hall building…the Gherkin, I think it’s called, in London. Thank you for this! Pinned for future reference.
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Now I know what to look out for whenever I make it to Portugal! And London, of course. Thanks for pinning 🙂
Wow, that is so awesome! I would love to go on a photo shoot there! (Perfect for yoga photos too!)
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You’re right, it is a great place for a photo shoot- they have weddings there and yoga photos are a good idea (passing that on to a friend…)!
I didn’t realize that Helmsley was a building until you said so either! But I love it the most, I think.
Isn’t that so funny? To think that I was standing right in front of it- I even took that picture with Andy and didn’t notice! I consider myself a typically observant person, haha.
I love love love art & sculpture museums. This place looks really awesome too. The photos with the snow makes them so magestic. I love it! I also think it’s cool you guys still go after the years.
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Yes, me too, Leslie. I like the effect of the snow…but in reality, I think we’re all over the snow in our daily lives at this point, haha 🙂
I can’t believe I haven’t heard of this. I live near Albany. This looks like cool to visit. Need to go once the weather gets better.
My favorite ones were the building and my face.
Melissa
Glad to let you know of a cool spot to visit not too far away! Thanks for coming by, Melissa!
Those are so original!
I know, and it’s so fun going back and seeing what pieces are still there and what’s new each time!
I’m so glad you took a picture of Andy in the skyscraper piece because I was immediately fascinated by that one and I wondered just how big or small is actually was. That’s an amazing piece of art!
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A little sense of scale is a good thing with stuff like this 🙂
This looks like such an interesting place! Great photos. I love that you shared some from different visits and seasons.
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Thanks, Rachel! I was hoping it wasn’t just me that was fascinated by the then-and-now shots.
I know about Storm King but not this. I love that you have both old and new photos of the same places. A friend did that with a trip he took to EPCOT in 1985 and then one he took last month. It reminded me of this.
And such beautiful and haunting sculptures!
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Now I’m wondering what other places we have then-and-now pictures from, it’s so much fun!
Wow I would love to go there and take some pics! What a fun day that must have been!
Always fun- and a good way to get a nice long walk in 🙂
That’s so awesome! Especially since you seem to do it periodically, it’s wonderful to compare the before and after photos and your experiences. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Valentine’s Day Christy! -Iva
Thanks Iva, Happy Valentine’s to you, too!
I have always wanted to visit one of these sculpture parks. So beautiful, especially in the snow!
Do it! The snow makes the sculptures even more intriguing!