2020 has been quite a year — that’s something we can all agree on — and as we say good riddance to it and anticipate 2021, we take a look back at some of the most exciting art installations presented this year. from an art installation festival that took over the saudi arabian desert, to an immersive art installation where suspended dried grass covers the entire ceiling of an otherwise empty room, we highlight our TOP 10 art installations of 2020.

desert X AlUla

for over a month, desert X AlUla took place in saudi arabia. featuring interactive installations by 14 artists, the site-specific art exhibition brought together a plurality of voices to speak on the environmental conditions, historic context and the surrounding communities of the ancient oasis. co-curated by saudi curators raneem farsi and aya alireza with neville wakefield — the artistic director of desert X — the public exhibition was the first of its kind in saudi arabia.

etherea by edoardo tresoldi

edoardo tresoldi’s ‘etherea’, the wire mesh installation originally conceived for the coachella valley music and arts festival in 2018 (see previous coverage here), arrived this year in rome for ‘back to nature’ exhibition. redesigned and rearranged for the occasion, the large-scale public artwork dialogues with the trees of the villa borghese gardens. the evocative piece takes its cues from baroque and neoclassical architecture, while the transparency of its materiality frames the views of the surrounding park in unexpected ways.

bospolder fox by florentijn hofman

as part of a larger body of sculptural essays, dutch artist florentijn hofman introduced a monumental ‘bospolder fox’ to the urban fabric of rotterdam. gripping a plastic bag in its jaws, the 16-meter-long animal towered overhead a congested intersection which separates the neighborhoods of bospolder and tussendijken — an area of the city where, in the evening, foxes are commonly seen. with the enormous public artwork, the artist suggested a clash between the two realms of the city and nature.

our glacial perspectives by olafur eliasson

olafur eliasson unveiled his latest permanent public artwork ‘our glacial perspectives’ along south tyrol’s hochjochferner glacier. upon visiting the glass artwork, visitors to mount grawand set out along a pathway leading along the mountain’s glacial-carved ridge for 410 meters. the path is incrementally divided by nine gates that are spaced at intervals corresponding in scale to the durations of earth’s ice ages, marking a deep timeline of the planet, of ice, and of the environment.

together apart by behin ha

behin ha’s ‘together apart’ comprised a pair of bright orange, mesh fabric installations built at two different sites in denmark. each installation consisted of nearly 400 coated mesh fabric ribbons, stretched between building rooflines and the ground. the two projects are a sequel to the studio’s ‘coshocton ray trace’ installation (see previous coverage here), both in form and function, as they also provide the site for various performances and gatherings.

french exit by tadao cern

‘french exit’ by lithuanian artist tadao cern is an immersive art installation where suspended dried grass covers the entire ceiling of an otherwise empty room. the project groups together dried grass strands, transforming an everyday, easily accessible item into a contemplative work of art.

vårberg giants by xavier veilhan

french artist xavier veilhan and his longtime collaborator, scenographer alexis bertrand, installed a pair of monumental sculptures in two parks in the borough of vårberg, a southwest suburb of stockholm. titled ‘vårbergs jättar’ (the vårberg giants), the site-specific public artworks are made of prefabricated, self-standing blocks of blue concrete. the project, which was commissioned by stockholm konst, marks the city’s largest work of art and its biggest artistic investment to date.

kintsugi court by victor solomon

victor solomon, founder of studio literally balling, shared an expressive public work ‘kintsugi court’ to illustrate basketball as a platform for unification and healing. through these isolating times brought on by the devastating pandemic, the artist explored the role of the sport as a unifying platform that inspires healing.

l’arc majeur by bernar venet

exhibiting art as a challenge to technology, renowned sculptor bernar venet inaugurated his monumental work entitled ‘l’arc majeur.’ along a highway in belgium. the installation of l’arc majeur goes along the E411 motorway, bordering the belgian provinces of namur and luxembourg. the artist had initially conceived the corten steel project over 35 years ago in 1984 — intending for it to be sited along a highway in france — during a time when art was just emancipating itself from the museum space and asserting its presence in the public space to be enjoyed by one and all.

moving dunes by NÓS

every year, montreal’s musée des beaux-arts (MBAM; montreal museum of fine arts) calls for proposals for an ephemeral installation on the avenue de musée. this year’s winner was canadian design firm, NÓS, who created moving dunes, an experiential mirage that extended from the museum’s exhibition — from africa to the americas: face-to-face picasso, past and present.