overview

Turn Park Art Space is pleased to announce exhibition Making of Turn Park Art Space. Exhibition presents archives and documentation of the development of the park. It includes drawings, models and artworks that architects and guest artists produced for the project from the moment of conception to its realization.

Situated on 16-acres of a former quarry in the town of West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Turn Park Art Space boasts a unique and diverse landscape. There are hills, meadows, a lake, and a 65-foot vertical drop offering breath-taking views of the surrounding landscape.

The architectural idea of the Turn Park Art Space project was created by Alexander Konstantinov. The concept and masterplan for the project was developed by Alexander Konstantinov together with Moscow based architect Ekaterina Vlasenko. Further development and realization of the project resulted from Konstantinov and Vlasenko's collaboration with Massachusetts / New York based AF architecture studio lead by Grigori Fateyev. Grigori Fateyev also provided the architectural support and documentation for the construction process.

The landscape and the architecture of the park serve as a backdrop for a collection of sculptures. The natural terrain of the park is divided into upper and lower levels. The design of the lower portion is reminiscent of a town park with a large area paved with marble chip and limestone, illuminated at night and filled with small architectural forms. To go from the lower to the upper park, visitors walk through a passage beneath the Gate House along the surface of the exposed marble bedrock. The upper park retains the character of meadows and fields with undulating surfaces and meandering paths. The paths outline the fields, defining the large outdoor spaces that can be experienced as “rooms” or “galleries.”

The key architectural motif of the buildings and the park is the dialogue between a straight line and a smooth curve. The straight line evokes the world of concepts, rationality, science and mathematics. The curve brings to mind the world of emotions, nature, and the tactile experience of the human body—as reflected in the curvature of the Gate House roof and the shape of the Gallery. The motif of the curved line also links back to the hills surrounding the site and dominating the views of the landscape around West Stockbridge.