James Turrell opens his 100th Skyspace in Denmark

James Turrell Opens 100th Skyspace at ARoS Aarhus Museum

American artist James Turrell’s largest Skyspace in a museum context opened to the public today at ARoS Aarhus Art Museum in Denmark, marking both his 100th such installation and a milestone timed to coincide with the summer solstice.artnet

The work, titled “As Seen Below – The Dome,” takes the form of a vast underground domed chamber measuring 16 metres high and 40 metres in diameter — roughly the same proportions as the Pantheon in Rome. Visitors reach it through a light-filled tunnel connecting the main museum building to a partially subterranean expansion called The Next Level.gagosian

A Half-Century in the Making

“With As Seen Below, I’m shaping the experience of seeing rather than delivering an image,” Turrell said in a statement. “The architecture holds the sky close, so you recognize that the act of looking is the work itself. Here, light isn’t description, it’s the substance you stand within.”artnet

The installation can be experienced in three modes. In “Open Sky,” visitors encounter the domed space with an unobstructed view of the sky above. During “Colour Shift” sessions — occurring hourly from May through August — the aperture seals and programmed light transforms the chamber’s walls and atmosphere. Bookable “Twilight” sessions at sunrise and sunset allow the interior lighting to shift in harmony with the changing sky.aros

Decade-Long Journey

The Skyspace was first announced in 2015 as part of a collaboration with Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, but the project faced delays including financial setbacks and a dome-lid supplier going bankrupt. The expansion was originally estimated to cost €40 million and was due to open in 2023.artnet

Rebecca Matthews, director of ARoS, called the work “an extraordinary work that invites visitors to slow down, look up, and experience light, time, and space in profoundly moving ways. This is not only a monumental addition to ARoS but also a gift to the public.”artnet

From Varese to Aarhus

Turrell installed his first Skyspace at the Panza Collection in Varese, Italy, in 1974. Over five decades, the series has grown to span more than 26 countries. The 82-year-old artist, whose work draws on his Quaker upbringing and experience as a pilot, continues work on his decades-long project at Roden Crater in Arizona, where he is transforming a volcanic cone into a space for observing light — a project begun in 1977 that remains without a scheduled opening date.aros