From the Louvre, to El Prado or Rijksmuseum, fascinating constructions all over the world have safeguarded and preserved art for our pleasure. Yet inside such imposing art temples, one can often feel small, perchance disconnected. Confined to a closed space, albeit amazing from an architectural standpoint, we reach more often than not, a level of art saturation and tend to seek out the open spaces these fantastic museums have to offer, if only to catch our breath during our visit. It is no wonder that in the midst of these museums’ permanent collections, art exhibitions are often absorbed, dispersed, or even overlooked. For these reasons, and to preserve the “collective power of creative expression from leading artists, architects, and collectors”, Francis Greenburger, founder of Art Omi, announced earlier this month the development of Art Omi Pavilions that will invite visitors to explore 12 to 18 individual Pavilions which will display legacy stand-alone exhibitions of highly distinguished artists and collectors who will showcase their work in a setting that they control and design.
Founded in 1992, Art Omi is a not-for-profit arts center in Ghent, New York that includes the Sculpture and Architecture Park, a contemporary art gallery, arts education programming for all ages, and five distinct international residency programs in architecture, art, dance, music, and writing. Developed over a 120 acres Campus with communal spaces that include a converted 1830 farmhouse and a two-story converted barn, Art Omi seems to be the proper vehicle for Steiner’s philosophy of anthroposophy: a community where each grows individually and collectively, through and with the arts, and in tune with nature.
Pursuing that philosophy while preserving the amazing landscape of woodlands, meadows, and 360-degree Hudson Valley views, Art Omi announced earlier this month the development of Art Omi Pavilions under a unique concept that will cross landscape with architecture and art. Over a 190-acre site in Chatham, New York and thanks to a $5 Million grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, Art Omi Pavilions will invite up to 18 artists to develop each their own Pavilions or mini-museums, with their own vision and design. Each artist will thus collaborate with an architect of their choice, and the final structures will be part of the spectacular open rural landscape.
While art is an artist’s expression, architecture will be the form, and nature, always prevailing in beauty and perfection, will be the vessel. One can understand the concept as a triumvirate of such. An additional dimension comes to mind, though – a fourth dimension – for the catalyst for the interplay of such creativity lies within us, the spectators, the visitors of these Pavilions. Such is how I understood it and I find it to be the basis for developing an interesting Community within these open fields. A Community that will cross borders, according to Art Omi: “from arts education for our local Hudson Valley neighbors, to welcoming international visitors and artists-in-residence alike to find inspiration in the fields of the Sculpture & Architecture Park in Ghent, and now to providing a platform for established artists to shape their legacies with Art Omi Pavilions in Chatham, we are honored to be part of the artistic process at every stage of its lifecycle”, shares Ruth Adams, co-executive director of Art Omi along with JeremyAdams.
The anticipated groundbreaking of the site will take place in 2025, and the initial collaborators include Alice Aycock, Rakuko Naito and Tadaaki Kuwayama, Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA) and Torkwase Dyson .
“The creative vision, spirit, and holistic ‘gesamtkunstwerk’ qualities that distinguish a body of work created or assembled from a singular point-of-view over a lifetime,” is what Art Omi is aiming for with this unique concept, Francis Greenburger continues.
Gesamtkunstwerk. German for a total work of art. Different art forms that come together to create a single, whole and cohesive work. From opera, to arts and architecture, and now to Art Omi Pavilions, where the objective is to“ preserve the vision, spirit, and holistic Gesamtkunstwerk in a sustainable natural landscape“.
It is truly a combination of creative forces, bringing together artists, architects and collectors. A legacy of creative expression. A community.
