Art Beneath the Skies

Oficina Francisco Brennand is a museum garden and architectural complex located in Pernambuco, Brazil. Artist Francisco Brennand is a pioneer in multimedia who used this as his workspace. Forest gardens, sculpture plazas, fountains, domes, chapels, movie theaters, temples, and studios are all part of the workshop. Referred to as The Citadel, Brennand’s cosmic glass and ceramic sculptures are on display along with artworks by other artists from the 2000s.

The Fountain of the Gods is an intriguing exhibit blending ceramic sculptures and water elements to depict a variety of gods and mythological creatures.

The Inhotim Institute, situated in Brumadinho, Brazil, is one of the largest outdoor museums in the world. A substantial collection of modern artwork is on exhibit with more than 1,800 pieces of art by 280 artists from 43 different nations. The Brazilian artist Burle Marx created the botanic gardens with about 4,000 unique species, and the artworks are on exhibit amid woodlands and in art pavilions, intermingling among the natural flora.

One of the highlights is Yayoi Kusama’s Narcissus Garden, which features 750 steel balls interacting with a reflecting pool surrounded by nature.

Helio Oiticica's Magic Square Penetrable #5 is a massive, immersive, colorful quasi-maze located between the trees in the forest.

The Taro Garden is an incredible outdoor area in central Italy’s Tuscany, featuring striking artwork by artist Niki de Saint-Phalle. This is a hybrid of an art park, museum, and site-specific artwork. Steel plaster is used to construct the artworks, which are then completed with vibrant mosaics. It is an outdoor art show inspired by the 22 tarot card images.

Visitors can see the figures of the Major Arcana rise above the woods and hills.

The Benesse Art Site is located on the islands of Naoshima, Teshima, and Inujima off the coast of Japan. It is a collection of art spaces, artworks, and pathways. Tadao Ando, the maestro of concrete, created Benesse House, a group of structures that housed hotels and collections of contemporary art. Naoshima’s gardens, plazas, and beaches have produced a wide range of artworks.

The Naoshima Plan “The Water” is an architectural vision by Hiroshi Sambuichi combining wind, water, and materials, making it one of the centerpieces.

Sitting in the Nevada desert near the ghost town of Rhyolite is the large-scale sculpture created by Belgian artist Albert Szukalski, The Last Supper.

The Goldwell Open-Air Museum is a combination museum and sculpture park set against the backdrop of the Amargosa Valley.

The Château La Coste in Provence, France, is part of a scenic hotel and wine property in the south of France. Chateau La Coste is the home of an art and architecture walk with amazing artworks. The space also holds temporary exhibits in the gallery spaces and offers multi-sensory experiences, such as hiking and wine and food tastings.

See the Crouching Spider by Louise Bourgeois.

Fundación NMAC in Cádiz, Spain, the Montemedia Contemporary Foundation, offers workshops and educational tours. Built in Dehesa de Montenmédio, a rural region in Cádiz, southern Spain, the artworks of the NMAC Foundation are intermingled with the beauty of the Mediterranean forest. The art collection consists of over 40 artworks.

Among the highlights is Human Nests by Marina Abramović.

Founded in 1969 as the Hakone Open-Air Museum inside the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, located in Hakone, Japan. It is among Japan’s earliest outdoor museums with sculptures. The Hakone collection combines immersive, contemplative, and colossal pieces in one location.

See the Symphonic Sculpture by French artist Gabriel Loire. 

For families, or really anyone who enjoys interactive art, there's the Net of Woods (also known as the “Woods of Net”) by Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam.

The Hill of Witches in Juodkrante, Lithuania, sits in the hills of Neringa near the resort town of Juodkrante. This is an open-air sculpture park with about 100 hand-carved wooden sculptures. It began in 1979. Led by artist Steponas Šarapovas and architect Algimantas Nasvytis, woodcarvers and sculptors from all over Lithuania were called to an initial project of 25 sculptures.

Every year, woodcarving symposiums are held in the Hill of Witches, and interested audiences can learn how to sculpt and restore the woodcarvings in this open-air museum.