James Turrell, The Way of Color (2009)

Using light as a brush and the sky as a canvas, Turrell, who is one of America’s most celebrated living artists, will create an original Skyspace, a structure that allows the viewer to experience the ever-changing aspects of light and space. The site-specific work designed for Crystal Bridges will be erected at the southern edge of the museum property near Compton Gardens and partially set into a hillside.

“My work is about space and the light that inhabits it,” said Turrell. “It is about how you confront that space and plumb it. It is about your seeing, like the wordless thought that comes from looking in a fire.”

Turrell uses native materials in the construction of his Skyspaces, and the Crystal Bridges piece will feature a palette of native stone in its construction. The work is envisioned as a circular structure that measures approximately 16 feet in diameter and features a viewing room with benches and a 10-foot-wide ceiling oculus revealing a partial view of the sky. The experience is enhanced by a computer-driven LED lighting display. The room can accommodate up to 23 visitors at once. It will be titled upon completion, which is anticipated by the end of 2009.