James Turrell Unveils 100th Skyspace at ARoS Aarhus

James Turrell has opened his 100th Skyspace, titled "As Seen Below – The Dome," at ARoS Art Museum in Aarhus, Denmark. The installation is his largest in a museum setting, rising 16 meters high and spanning 40 meters in diameter. Over a decade in the making, the dome features a retractable 19-ton lid over the oculus and over 1,100 artificial light sources for programmed light shows. Danish architecture firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen collaborated on the project, sanding and painting the 13,000-square-foot interior to create a flat visual effect. Turrell, now 83, began experimenting with light as a child in 1940s Los Angeles. His Quaker upbringing and studies in Buddhism and Eastern philosophy inform the Skyspaces, which blend Western and Eastern art, philosophy, science, and religion. The artist's other Skyspaces are located worldwide, including at a Quaker meeting house in Houston and a Japanese farmhouse in Tokamachi. His magnum opus, Roden Crater in Arizona, remains closed to the public. ARoS director Rebecca Matthews emphasizes the durational and immersive nature of the piece. Turrell's popularity has been boosted by musicians like Beyoncé, Drake, and Kanye West, who donated $10 million to Roden Crater.