Image credit: Florian Holzherr
James Turrell’s largest Skyspace installation within a museum context has opened at ARoS Aarhus Art Museum in Denmark. The project, which completes a major expansion of the institution, also marks the artist’s 100th Skyspace project.
Image credit: Adam Mørk
Image credit: Adam Mørk
Titled As Seen Below – The Dome, the permanent installation measures 52 feet high and 131 feet in diameter, making it Turrell’s most ambitious Skyspace to date. Visitors enter the work through an underground corridor before emerging into a domed chamber where a circular aperture frames the sky above. The installation uses changing light conditions to alter visitors’ perception of the space and the sky beyond.
Image credit: Adam Mørk
Image credit: Adam Mørk
Turrell has spent more than five decades exploring the perceptual qualities of light through immersive environments. His Skyspace series, installed at locations around the world, combines architecture and controlled lighting to encourage visitors to observe subtle changes in natural light and colour.
Image credit: Florian Holzherr
Image credit: Florian Holzherr
The installation is presented in three viewing modes. Open Sky leaves the ceiling aperture uncovered, framing the changing sky as the central element of the work. In Colour Shift, the opening is sealed, allowing artificial lighting to transform the appearance of the interior space. Special Twilight sessions take place during sunrise and sunset, when programmed lighting changes interact with natural shifts in daylight to create varying perceptual effects.
Image credit: Mathilde Hobolt Mortensen, Aarhus Kommune, 2026
Image credit: Tina Sørensen © Schmidt Hammer Lassen, 2026
The opening of As Seen Below – The Dome concludes abroader expansion of ARoS developed in collaboration with Schmidt Hammer Lassen and the Aarhus Municipality. The project also includes The Salling Gallery, a subterranean exhibition space for annual contemporary art commissions that opened in 2025, and the new ARoS Art Square, an outdoor venue for art installations.
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