Multimedia installation to travel to several sites in 14 days. Opening in Massachusetts July 12 – 28, 2019
The Trustees announces American multimedia artist and filmmaker Doug Aitken as the next artist to create an original, large-scale installation for its Art & the Landscape contemporary public art series. Titled New Horizon, the installation will be Aitken’s first public artwork commission in the U.S. for a large statewide conservation nonprofit and one of the most ambitious projects mounted by The Trustees.
New Horizon has been conceived and created specifically for the Trustees and will be presented at several natural, coastal, and cultural sites throughout Massachusetts in the summer of 2019. The artwork will premiere with a sunrise launch at The Trustees’ Long Point beach on Martha’s Vineyard on Friday, July 12 and make several multi-day and single day stops and surprise appearances throughout the state, ending on Sunday, July 28 at Field Farm in Williamstown. Events will include live musical performances, provocative discussions about conservation and the future of our world and environment, and dynamic nighttime illuminations. More details about the programming will be revealed in the coming months as they are confirmed.
The Trustees’ introduced its Art & the Landscape series in 2016 to create inspiring art experiences at some of the Massachusetts-based conservation nonprofit’s historic house museums, parks, gardens, and beaches. Aitken will be the fourth artist to be featured in the series which has, to date, included works by Alicja Kwade, Jeppe Hein, and Sam Durant and welcomed thousands of new and repeat visitors at some of The Trustees’ most iconic sites, including Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich and the Old Manse in Concord, both National Historic Landmarks, and World’s End in Hingham.
“When we began the Art & the Landscape project, we invited artists to create new work inspired by our places, but Doug Aitken has gone beyond that,” says Barbara Erickson, Trustees President & CEO. “He has created a project inspired by our mission and our organizational work, moving beyond one site specific installation to two weeks of installations. I look forward to seeing how his generative piece and the complementary programming transforms our places through not only beauty and spectacle, but also conversation, thought, and ideas.”
Aitken is known for working in every medium, from film and installations to architectural intervention, as a means to push and inspire the viewer to interpret the world around us with a new perspective. His works are often platforms for engagement that provoke innovative thought and dialogue.
“One of our intentions of the Art & the Landscape program is to increase access to the contemporary art experience among diverse audiences using The Trustees’ cultural and natural sites as the platform–or even, in Aikten’s case, as the medium itself,” adds Pedro Alonzo, Curator for the Art & the Landscape series. “Aitken is a master at engaging not only contemporary art enthusiasts but the broader general public, as well, in his incredibly innovative, creative work. This will be a unique, multi-sensory experience not to be missed.”
More about Doug Aitken
Doug Aitken is widely known for his innovative fine art installations. Utilizing a wide array of artistic approaches, Aitken’s eye leads us into a world where time, space, and memory are fluid concepts. His work has been featured in exhibitions around the world, in such institutions as the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution, The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Vienna Secession, the Serpentine Gallery in London and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Aitken earned the International Prize at the Venice Biennale for the installation “electric earth,” the 2012 Nam June Paik Art Center Prize, the 2013 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award: Visual Arts, and the 2017 Frontier Art Prize.
Recent solo exhibitions include survey exhibitions at the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany (2015), The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA (2016), and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX, USA (2017). Major installations include Underwater Pavilions, presented by Parley for the Oceans and MOCA, Los Angeles, Catalina Island, CA, USA (2016) and the site-specific artwork Mirage, installed at Desert X, Palm Springs, CA, USA (2017), Detroit, MI, USA (2018), and Gstaad, Switzerland (2019).
For more information on his work and a full CV, visit 303gallery.com or dougaitkenworkshop.com.
About The Trustees Art and the Landscape Initiative
The Trustees launched its Art & the Landscape initiative in the spring of 2016, working with independent curator Pedro Alonzo and renowned national and international artists to create site-specific, public art aimed at enhancing and enriching visitor experiences at its properties. Many of The Trustees’ scenic, cultural, and historic properties have served as a dynamic inspiration for artists, thought leaders, and innovators throughout the organization’s 127-year history. The Trustees’ Art & The Landscape initiative aims to change the paradigm of artwork in public space from objects that are meant solely to be observed and contemplated, to structures that are catalysts for interaction, exchange, dialogue, and participation. With thoughtful planning and strong curatorial leadership, Art & the Landscape ties together threads of art, nature, community, and history. The installations are temporary, lasting approximately six months to a year in duration. By leveraging the unique attributes of Trustees’ sites, artists have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop singular projects that could not happen anywhere else in the world.
The first Art & the Landscape installation, The Meeting House, created by Los Angeles-based artist, Sam Durant for The Old Manse in Concord, was on view from the summer through fall of 2016. The second piece, A New End, created for World’s End in Hingham by Berlin-based artist Jeppe Hein, was on view from August 2016 through September 2017. The third installation, TunnelTeller, was created by Berlin-based Alicja Kwade and opened to the public at Castle Hill on the Crane Estate in Ipswich in May of 2018 where it is currently on view through April 2019.
