TurnPark Art Space is a 16-acre sculpture park, gallery, event destination and architectural vortex situated in West Stockbridge in the Berkshires. There are many minds that have come together to bring TurnPark into fruition. It was created and manifested by Igor Gomberg and Katya Brezgunova in collaboration with architects Alexander Konstantinov and Moscow-based Ekaterina Vlasenko.
The surrounding landscape, comprised of rolling hills, trails, snippets of wildflower habitats, serve to not only offer itself as a mooring for the gallery spaces and sculptures, but work in a partnership with the whole, becoming another interdependent art form. The landscape is interspersed with a performance platform, amphitheater style, as well as set-in stone topical designs within the grasses, and the trails meander in and out of sculpture areas.
The light hits the sculptures acutely at important points and angles, enhancing the conversation between them and their surroundings. In addition to the unique outdoor setting of the park is an intimate gallery space nestled in the main building, complimenting the vastness of the grounds, as wellas a garage gallery at a small distance from the main area. It is the thoughtful and carefully curated environments that highlight the expansive works, enhancing their individual intention, in addition to the energy that binds them together.
The most direct way to enter the sculpture park is through the main gallery. Currently, there is a very compact and subtle exhibition entitled “Nature In(m)Balance” with artists Scott Sherk and Pat Badt showing works responding to the climate change dynamics in Northern Iceland. This exhibition, scheduled to end on July 7, was the result of a month-long residency, at which time the artists discovered firsthand the enigmatic nature of the landscape. The artists respond with a mixture of mediums and approaches; Pat Badt exhibits brightly colored twine twist around rocks, suggesting the balance of earthen formations and humans finding and transforming the environment for habitation. Subtle prints and paintings are textural reflections of the surface and horizon. Sherk runs in parallel with a video and sound installation documenting subtle observations of the changing landscape.