Now for some cultural news. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art may be heavy on ponderous 19th century portraits in some of its galleries when it opens (next year? maybe), but its grounds will feature sculpture about as modern as it gets. The museum announced today that “Lowell’s Ocean” (above), a sculpture by Mark di Suvero that received high praise from a New York Times art writer last summer, and a commissioned Skyspace work by environmental artist James Turrell will be placed at the north and south ends, respectively, of the 100-acre museum site in the town of Bentonville. DiSuvero and Turrell are the first living artists whose works have been revealed to be part of the Crystal Bridges collection.

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DiSuvero’s large-scale steel beam works earned him a description as “perhaps the greatest Abstract Expressionist sculptor” from the Times. “Lowell’s Ocean” is made up of criss-crossing I-beams and a spiral of steel cut from a single piece. Turrell’s work will be a circular structure in native stone with a LED-light enhanced window on the sky. He’s created other Skyspaces in Houston, Texas; Seattle, Wash., and Pomona, Calif.

Museum director Bob Workman also announced that a north-south biking and hiking trail through the property will open this spring.

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Press release on the jump.

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