maya lin's 'wavefield' opens at storm king in new york

opening in may of this year will be ‘wavefield’ a new installation by maya lin at the storm king art center in mountainville, new york. the project encompasses an eleven acre site, with the earthwork covering four acres at the southwest border of the storm king art center in mountainville, new york. formerly a gravel pit the site is an environmental reclamation project.

the work maximized the soil from the existing site and was created with a naturally made drainage system beneath the soil. grass was planted that are native and require minimal watering needs stressing the sustainable nature of the work. the carbon footprint of the construction of the piece was calculated and will be fully offset by the planting of 260 indigenous trees.

‘wavefield’ is comprised of seven rows of rolling waves of earth and grass. the waves range in height from ten to fifteen feet, with a trough- to-trough distance of approximately forty feet. the work at storm king is the largest site specific installation that lin has created and it marks a culmination in her series dedicated to the exploration of water wave formations.

main image © maya lin studio, courtesy pace gallery